JUNE SUBSCRIPTION
Kibingo, Burundi
This month I wanted to bring it back to the core of how we buy coffees.
We want to buy coffees that are representations of where they were grown, the variety of the plant itself, and the general expression that may be unique to those attributes.
In most cases, we can profile a coffee based off the country or region the coffee plant was grown in. We can do this even more easily with the knowledge that coffee varieties were first grown and cultivated during periods of colonist rule and similar events. This usually means a specific variety was brought into each country, making a flavour landmark along a timeline. Fun Fact: In some cases it was even travellers bearing a gift that later got cultivated into crops.
Except for the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia, coffee was usually brought in by an outside party. It was first cultivated into a crop in Yemen, it's believed, and from there made its way into the rest of the world. There have been mutations of basic varieties (Typica and then Bourbon), but for the most part they stay true to the general flavour profile of their predecessor. The changes to the flavour are mild, but the more notable changes are to the plant's defence mechanisms, yield potential and bean shape/size/anatomy.
We will use this month's coffee, Kibingo, as an example of how a country's coffee flavour profile comes about:
The Red Bourbon variety was the primary cultivar to be grown in Burundi and throughout Rwanda as well. It was brought over in the 1920s by Belgian colonists. This variety alone (Red Bourbon) started the building block of what we are to expect, and not to expect, from most of Burundi's coffee production, flavour-wise. We also know that when processing coffee using the fully-washed processing method, we have minimal fermentation and are left with a bare, authentic picture of the coffee's variety and growing conditions.
A Red Bourbon from Kayanza, Burundi should produce a cup that is light and clean, with great sweetness, but also some nuanced tea-like characteristics. The coffee should have a sparkling acidity, but not be unbalanced or aggressive. The mouthfeel is usually lighter, with a very clean finish.
Above is my description of a 'great' washed coffee from Burundi, especially a Red Bourbon variety from Kayanza. That is what we believe we have found in Kibingo, a coffee that is a really great representation of its parts. We roast the coffee in such a way as to try to highlight and express these inherent qualities.
We hope you enjoy this coffee and the stark difference between last month's coffee and this month's coffee. We are always interested in hearing how you enjoy each coffee, so reach out if you feel!
Kindest regards,
Ben