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Located in north-central Burundi, the province of Kayanza hosts numerous washing stations where local small-holder farmers bring their coffee to be cleaned of fruit and dried. This particular microlot comes from the Masha washing station where exceptional care has been given to the processing and sorting of this coffee to ensure high quality and consistency.
A brief note on processing coffee:
Coffee is the seed of a cherry-like fruit. "Processing" refers to the way in which the fruit is removed from the seed. Most coffees are pulped to have the majority of the fruit removed, then soaked and washed to remove the remaining fruit. Honey processed coffees skip the middle step. Some amount of fruit is removed, then the seeds and what remains of the fruit are set out to dry. This last bit of fruit has a sticky, honey-like consistency, and that's where this process gets its name. Honey processed coffees tend to have notes of subtle red fruits and elevated sweetness.
Coffees are placed on raised beds to enable even drying. Here you can see coffee at three different stages; the bright red cherries in the back are freshly picked, while dark purple cherries in the front have dried for several days. Both of these coffees are being processed using the natural method, which keeps the fruit on the seed while it dries. The tan bed in the middle holds coffee cleaned of fruit, drying in “parchment” - the peanut shell-like husk that separates from the washed bean while drying.
