March 2, 2011 : Stumptown Coffee Roasters Burundi Bwayi

Everyone who knows me knows I love my coffee. For several years I've purchased freshly roasted coffee from a local roaster. I normally get a pound of Ethiopian Harrar which last just over a week but I wanted to try something different. This bag of Burundi Bwayi was shipped from Stumptown Coffee Roasters in Portland, OR. I'll let them describe the coffee.

Bwayi’s 2010 harvest has seen a significant increase in fully washed coffee, which means improved wages and further stability for the entire operation. Stumptown has been working closely with this group of farmers for the past four years and the Direct Trade relationship has paid off with increased cup quality and guaranteed price premiums going to the farmers. Bwayi, located near the Rwandan border in northern Burundi, is one of 19 washing stations in the Kayanza Sogestal. A sogestal is typically a regionally based management group, which encompasses multiple washing stations. Burundi’s sogestals are equivalent to Kenya’s cooperatives.