Kibingo, Burundi — June 2025

JUNE SUBSCRIPTION

Kibingo, Burundi

We shared a little social media post on this recently and thought we'd share the comparison with our subscribers as well. Featuring Kibingo directly after Minani offers an incredibly nuanced experience between the two.

Both are from Central Africa, with harvests around the same time (July-September). Both are also the Red Bourbon varietal, processed as washed coffees with minimal fermentation. This makes the coffees very similar, statistically speaking.

Now, how does this translate to the flavour profile in the cup? Of course they may be similar, but when you taste them side-by-side, their distinctions are quite notable. Kibingo is a more citric acid-driven cup (think lemon), whereas Minani's coffee is more malic (think apple). The structure of Kibingo is more akin to a herbal tea — a little greener and fresher, and overall a little more wispy. Minani's coffee is more condensed and structured, with ripe stone fruit and black tea depth.

We have a deep love for these coffees and have formed relationships with them over 5+ years of roasting them. Both offer the nuance seen only in clean, washed coffees with minimal fermentation and processing. In a new coffee world of crazy fermentation and over-processing to develop flavours, we find this simplicity refreshing to come back to.

The minimal processing is akin to having a really great camera, dialed in correctly, and looking at a more raw result with minimal colour grading or editing. A heavily processed coffee, when done averagely, can look like one of those early over-edited Instagram filters. Bear in mind that heavier processing can bring out character, sharpen the focus, or even add a lens to see the coffee through, which may be necessary for a producer to achieve their goal. We desire to see the simplicity of a coffee's quality through a clear lens, allowing us to see the harvest's character, terroir nuance, and the hallmarks of each varietal.

Hope you too got to enjoy and appreciate each of these individual coffees — perhaps even more so, given this new perspective and insight.

Kindest regards,
Ben