There were some interesting twists and turns to the process of exporting coffee from Burundi this year. A landlocked country in East Africa, export logistics and bureaucracy are tricky at the best of times - but this year had some doozys. The exact intrigues that went down in order to get coffee out this year is a story that's unfortunately not ours to tell (especially second-hand - getting the facts wrong could cause legal and safety implications for those working in country). 
After wondering if we'd see any coffees from Burundi this year, tasting this coffee again on arrival was a reminder of why we keep coming back.

The quality coming from Giku this just hits the spot - bright, intensely juicy, and (for this lot) properly Traditionally Washed. We like value add processing - we fully admit it - we like a bit of extra fermentation in our coffee - but it can mean the sometimes our offer may swing a little process/funk heavy. It's lots like this from Giku that exist as our riposte - emphatically clean and standing as testament to just how much elegant quality can exist in classic washed coffee

The 2024 harvest marked a return to form after last year's low yields. Government-fixed cherry prices increased to 1,380 Burundian francs per kilo - about 37p at current rates. For Burundi's smallholder farmers, who often tend just 50-250 trees on tiny plots, these fixed prices represent their only immediate income from the harvest. But with global coffee prices hitting record highs in 2024, the gap between local cherry payments and international market value grew stark.

Farmers will pick and deliver cherry to either collection points or to the washing stations themselves, depending on what is closer, although “closer” in this context can often still mean a matter of many kilometres - no small feat when a sack of fresh cherries could weigh 30-60kg and upwards. A station or collecting agent can pay no less than the Government fixed price - but also no more - for the initial cherry collection, which is paid to the farmer on the spot at the moment of delivery.

In order for the higher price commanded by speciality to return to the producers, a second “quality premium” will be paid - typically at the end of the harvest, some weeks or months later, as the coffee is being shipped and FOB invoices settled (payments made when coffee is loaded onto a container). This requires a lot of traceability, record keeping and sound-partnership to ensure that the value is fully returned for the higher premiums these lots command. The ability to significantly return value at origin is why we chose to work with exporters like Long Miles (via Osito) in Burundi.

It's profoundly important that this happens - we're in a world with record high commercial prices for coffee (as well reported in the news) and accessing those prices involves a degree of resource, finance & information that it would be fair to say the average Burundian smallholder would not have access to. The importance of these direct relationships becomes even more critical - ensuring that the premium we pay for quality actually makes it back to the producers who created it, rather than being captured upstream.

We've doubled down on Giku this year - both in lots selected and overall volume purchased. The consistently stellar quality we've had the pleasure of purchasing from these smallholders & the Ninga CWS shows why Burundi has become such an anticipated part of our late winter/early spring offer.