Burundi Kibingo Coffee Washing Station

Burundi Kibingo Coffee Washing Station Burundi Kyanza, Kayanza Prefecture Kibingo Washing Station 3,500 farmers in 18 villages (operated by GREENCO) Bourbon Free Washed 1,893m Fruitful flavor like cranberry tea. Gradually, the sweetness of dark chocolate lingers. Sold as whole beans. We recommend 2-3 weeks after roasting, but you can enjoy the difference before and after. We recommend drinking it within 4-8 weeks from the roasting date. [From importer's materials below] With 3,500 farmers Kibingo Coffee Washing Station was established in 1986 in Kayanza District, Kayanza Prefecture. This area is also known as the source of the Nile River, and the wet mill is built at an altitude of 1,893m. The washing station is known for its large log bridge to cross the river. Reeds are planted around the river to prevent river erosion, and the station's name comes from the local word for reeds (KIBINGO). Kibingo Washing Station collects coffee produced by approximately 3,500 farmers living in 18 surrounding villages. The station has been attracting attention around the world for its excellent flavor and stable quality, which is the result of its high altitude, and has won awards at the COE every year, including first place in 2017. GREENCO's Initiatives Behind Kibingo's sincere efforts to improve the quality of its coffee and its rapid progress, which has earned it recognition, lies GREENCO, the local exporter that operates the station. GREENCO is a coffee exporter that specializes in specialty coffee, established in 2015, and currently owns a total of 13 washing stations, eight in Kayanza and five in Ngozi, making it a leading figure in Burundi's specialty coffee. For them, a Swiss-owned company, Burundi coffee is the most complex and exotic coffee, and they established an exporter to make Burundi coffee of higher quality and to spread it around the world. In Burundi, which is said to be one of the poorest countries in the world, they also want to connect the future through coffee. Farmers have no choice but to depend on the coffee they produce every year, so they help them produce higher quality coffee to support their livelihoods. Working hand in hand with farmers Specifically, the reason they have been able to produce high-quality coffee is their appropriate cherry evaluation system. Cherries that farmers hand-harvest and bring in by bicycle are first placed in a barrel of water, where floaters are checked and removed. The cherries are then hand-sorted again on a sorting table, and unripe cherries other than floaters are removed. After these two checks, the final weight is taken, and the washing station staff checks the quality before the coffee can be bought and sold. This strict quality control system has raised the premium for high quality coffee and the farmers' own awareness of quality, which has led to the washing stations they manage all receiving recognition in COE competitions and other events.