Burundi Mutara Hill Kirundo Natural
About This Coffee
The Producers
Mutara experiences a warmer and drier climate than many coffee-growing areas in western Burundi, making the region particularly well suited to natural processing. Coffee is cultivated on small family farms under the shade of Grevillea trees and banana plants, where Red Bourbon coffee grows alongside food crops. Throughout the harvest season, farmers make repeated selective picking rounds to ensure that only fully ripe cherries are delivered for processing.
Cherries are brought to Mutara Washing Station on the day of harvest, where careful sorting and separate processing preserve the identity of the community lot. Throughout the production cycle, Cafex provides ongoing technical support covering pruning, natural fertilisation, disease management and good harvesting practices. Following the impact of coffee leaf rust in previous seasons, these extension services have become increasingly important in supporting farm productivity and coffee quality.
All producers receive payment electronically through local microfinance institutions, improving financial security while providing access to savings and agricultural credit. Income from coffee represents an important source of household revenue and helps many families invest in education, including school fees and school materials for their children.
Mutara was selected as a separate community lot because of the consistent quality of its cherries, the commitment of its producers and the distinctive character that Kirundo's drier climate brings to natural coffees.
The Process
Ripe coffee cherries are first sorted by flotation to remove floaters and low-density fruit, then carefully hand-selected to eliminate any remaining immature or defective cherries. The selected cherries are dried naturally on raised beds under natural sunlight, with regular turning to ensure uniform drying. Additional hand sorting is carried out throughout the drying process and within the first 24 hours to remove any remaining defects and preserve the quality and integrity of the lot. Sun drying takes an average of 22 days, after which the coffee is rested for at least 4 weeks before secondary processing.
The operation of the washing station is a huge challenge. Farmers work all day to handpick their coffee cherries, at sunset the coffee arrives at the cafex washing station. All workers of the station give the coffee their greatest care. The processing takes place at night, while the reception of the cherries takes place from sunrise until the early hours of the night, allowing farmers to focus on providing the highest quality.
- Subregion Mutara, Kirundo
- Producer Type Washing Station
- Wet Mill Mutara Washing Station
- Processing Natural / Dry Process
- Bag Types Grain Pro / Ecotact
- Plant Species Arabica
- Variety Bourbon
- Min Growing Altitude 1400m
- Max Growing Altitude 1650m
- Screen Size 15 Up
- On Sale No
- Top Lot No
- Price Per Kg £8.85
- Status Spot
- Coffee Grade BDI CA NAT
- CTRM Contract Number P8003235-5
- Origin Burundi
- Warehouse Vollers Group Uk