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Day 9 - Burundi Mirango #17

Bear Bones Coffee

Coming from the Mirango washing station near Vyanda, a town in the Bururi district, southern Burundi. The washing stations was built in 2015 and now processes the crop of 135 smallholders. It is part of the Duharanirikawa Cooperative. Duharanirikawa was formed in 2012 in the Bururi province. It means “Protecting coffees of all kinds”.

The coffee from this lot is hand-sorted. In the washed process, the coffee cherries are fermented in tanks using a single-fermentation process and then dried in the sun for 7 days, using a humidity meter device and moved regularly to achieve even drying. Once dried the parchment coffee is moved to the warehouse to be assessed, graded and stored in cool conditions to maintain quality.

Coffee production has been something of a roller coaster in Burundi, with wild ups and downs: During the country’s time as a Belgian colony, coffee was a cash crop, with exports mainly going back to Europe or to feed the demand for coffee by Europeans in other colonies. Under Belgian rule, Burundian farmers were forced to grow a certain number of coffee trees each—of course receiving very little money or recognition for the work. Once the country gained its independence in the 1960s, the coffee sector (among others) was privatized, stripping control from the government except when necessary for research or price stabilization and intervention. Coffee farming had left a bad taste, however, and fell out of favor; quality declined, and coffee plants were torn up or abandoned.

After the civil war–torn 1990s and the nearly total devastation of the country’s economy, coffee slowly emerged as a possible means to recover the agrarian sector and increase foreign exchange. In the first decade of the 2000s, inspired in large part by neighboring Rwanda’s success rebuilding through coffee, Burundi’s coffee industry saw an increase in investment, and a somewhat healthy balance of both privately and state-run coffee companies and facilities has created more opportunity and stability, and has helped Burundi establish itself as an emerging African coffee-growing country, despite its small size and tumultuous history.

About This Roaster

At Bear Bones Coffee we have a range of specialty blends and single origin coffees to suit any cafe’s needs and seek like-minded individuals with whom to share our passion for this industry. We are committed to helping our customers produce the best coffee possible by using the highest quality beans, working with the best coffee equipment, and supplying complementary and custom training on everything from crop to cup. We’re in this for the long haul and are always up for a coffee.