Rogue Wave Coffee - Burundi, Ngozi Bavyeyi, Natural
Tasting Notes: Raspberry, Pineapple, Cocoa, Rooibos
Origin: Burundi
Region: Ngozi Province
Farm and Producer: 600 members of the Bavyeyi producer group
Variety: Red Bourbon
Elevation: 1800 Meters above sea level
Harvest: March-August 2020
Process: Natural dried in the fruit on raised beds in the sun
More about Bavyeyi Group:
This is a traditional natural coffee from Ngozi, Burundi, produced by smallholders working with JNP Coffee to earn premiums, empower women in the workforce, and improve sustainable production. Bavyeyi in Kirundi translates to “parents,’’ a name given to honor the generations of hardworking parents, like Jeanine’s, whose labor in coffee (something many farming families either do not consume or cannot afford to consume) provides shelter, nourishment, and educational opportunities to their children. The producer group is women-owned and works closely with JNP Coffee’s trained Q Graders in Burundi on best quality practices and lot curation. Indeed, this coffee itself is comprised of five unique processing lots from different days throughout harvest. Drying naturals in the high and cool Ngozi climate is a painstakingly slow process, often taking 45 to 60 days to complete, during which the coffee is continuously circulated for even air exposure. Despite having one of the longest drying periods in the world, the cup profile is noticeably mild in process.
NP Coffee is highly focused on women’s empowerment, and along with a few local women’s rights advocates, supported the Burundi chapter of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance. IWCA farmer members in Burundi now number more than 2,000, whose coffee is differentiated by membership, marketed for its traceability and impact, and has generated end-of-year premiums. JNP Coffee has created additional programs to expand their farmer base and generate Dushime™ premiums. It seems they can’t expand fast enough. In Kayanza and Ngozi, the heart of the nation’s coffee production regions, competition for cherry can be fierce, so washing stations may pay well above the country’s minimum price to court premium harvests. JNP Coffee goes a step further, returning second payments to farmers and investing in opportunities for education and community building.