BURUNDI - Mpanga (Natural) Great Taste 2021

GREAT TASTE AWARD: 2021

Taste notes: delicate in character, floral, jasmine, rose and orange blossom.

Mpanga is both the name of the farm and of the central washing station located in Kayanza Province, Northern Burundi. Both are managed by Jean-Clement Birabereye – a 15-year coffee veteran, who oversaw the construction of the washing station back in 2008. The station processes coffee from approximately 3,400 smallholder farmers, who cultivate coffee on the hillsides that surround Kayanza, at elevations of up to 1,950 masl. To service these producers properly, Jean-Clement has ensured that the station is well-equipped to process volumes of speciality coffee and benefits from 450 drying beds and a McKinnon 6-disc pulping machine.

Mpanga processes roughly 1,500 tonnes of coffee per season, with each producer lot separated and named according to the hillside upon which the coffee was grown. Under Jean-Clement’s guidance, Mpanga has achieved incredible results at the Burundi Cup of Excellence, finishing 1st and 3rd in the 2014 competition. As a result of the hard work and diligence, Jean-Clement has implemented, Mpanga has become highly regarded for its consistently clean and complex coffees.

This particular natural lot consists of coffee picked at the peak of harvest from Mpanga Farm, and processed at the Mpanga washing station.

Varietal: Bourbon cultivars

Altitude: 1,950 masl

Process: Natural

Farm: Mpanga