Burundi - Sun Dried Natural
We are thrilled to present our latest African coffee offering from the farms of Busambo, Kayanza, Burundi. If you are like us, you may be asking, where is Burundi? So glad you asked!
Burundi is a small, landlocked nation in East Africa, bordered by Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Lake Tanganyika—the deepest lake in Africa and the second-largest freshwater lake in the world. Spanning nearly 28,000 square kilometers, Burundi is one of the continent’s most densely populated countries, with nearly 13 million people. The vast majority of the population practices subsistence farming, and cash crops like coffee and tea are essential lifelines, providing the income necessary for education, livestock, and household needs.
Reaching the coffee heartland requires flying into Bujumbura, the capital and site of the country’s only paved airport. A two-hour drive from the capital leads to the town of Kayanza, though reaching the farms of the Busambo community, requires an additional hour of travel over rugged dirt roads.
Near the Kayanza area is located the Umoco coffee washing station—named after the Kirundi word for “light”— which serves as the central hub for the surrounding hills. Producers typically deliver their cherries on foot, though some utilize bicycles or motorcycles. Coffee here is primarily grown in full sun, often without the use of fertilizers due to their high cost. For subsistence, families also cultivate bananas, maize, cassava, and beans.
At Umoco, the coffee undergoes a meticulous processing routine: a 12-hour wet fermentation is followed by a second 12-hour fermentation in cement tanks. The parchment is then dried for 20 to 25 days on traditional African raised beds.
These coffees thrive at exceptional altitudes between 1,800 and 2,200 meters above sea level, rooted in rich red clay soils. The region borders the Kibira National Forest, a dense canopy that fosters cooler temperatures and higher rainfall than other Burundian coffee regions. Known locally as the “up country,” this area also holds deep historical weight as the burial site of Burundi’s former kings, whose graves are sheltered by towering indigenous trees.
Operating in Burundi presents extreme challenges. It remains one of the world's poorest nations, with a per capita GDP often estimated between 10 and 20 USD. This poverty is intertwined with systemic issues, including food insecurity, ethnic conflict, fuel shortages, and political instability, all of which complicate the development of reliable, long-term trade relationships.
Government involvement often adds layers of complexity rather than relief. Heavy bureaucracy and frequent regulatory shifts create a difficult environment for producers. Furthermore, the national coffee authority, ODECA, acts as both a regulator and a producer, a conflict of interest that leaves only those producing high volumes or exceptional quality with a path to profitability.
Despite these significant obstacles, many Burundian producers remain committed to building resilient, quality-focused operations. Through your purchase, resources are dedicated to supporting these efforts by opening new markets, ensuring producers can access competitive prices and secure more sustainable futures for their families.
We've roasted this exceptional coffee on the lighter end of medium, to ensure that you are tasting the beautiful nuances and complexity of flavors this coffee has to offer. Finding a nice balance of the acidity and sweetness that African coffees are known for, while maintaining a tea-like finish.
We recommend brewing on your favorite method between 198-205 degrees.
Altitude: 1850-2100
Process: Sundried Natural
Varietal: Red Bourbon
Tasting Notes: Peach Cobbler, Pluot, Honeysuckle, Oolong Tea
Roast Level: Med-Light
Del Principe Decaf Peru
Origin: Peru
Roast Level: Medium Dark
Tasting Notes: Dark Chocolate, Brown Sugar,
Black Currant
Processing: Mountain Water
El Salvador Bourbon
We are pleased to add our newest coffee from our friends at Forest Flame Coffees in El Salvador to our line up! A beautiful, washed process Bourbon from producer Andres Quintanilla.
Andres is a 4th generation coffee farmer who's grandmother, Amalia, planted her first coffee crop in a remote area of El Salvador called Cerro Cachuatique in 1924. His grandparents slowly grew the farm, along with their children, adding a dry mill to their property in the 1960's. The family managed to maintain and build up their land, coming together to weather the rust crisis in the early 2000's, adding to their varietals, and increasing the quality of their coffee offerings. Creating a name for themselves, and building a legacy for their future generations, they partnered with the producers from Forest Flame Coffees who are using profits to enhance the lives of farm villagers in El Salvador to provide schooling and medical care to families in need.
This coffee from Andres delivers as a classic Latin American Bourbon, it's chocolaty with hints of plum cherries and caramel sweetness. It's mild acidity and toasty almond finishes lend to an easy to drink crowd pleaser every time!
Producer: Andres Quintanilla
Process: Washed process
Varietal: Bourbon
Elevation: 1450+ masl
Tasting Notes: Plum, Chocolate, Toasted Almond, Caramel
Del Rey Espresso Blend
This blend of El Salvador and Honduras is complex and sweet as a straight shot, and powerful enough to hold its own in milk. It will not let you down. This is our cafe work-horse.
Can be brewed as espresso or drip, don't let the intention of the blend hold you back. No matter what you will find the brilliant notes of Chocolate, Orange, and Hazelnut with a smooth, rich finish. Brew at a temperature of 202-203 for best results.
Note from the Roaster: If you are brewing espresso at home, make sure to pay attention to 4 major things; Dry Dose, Wet Dose, Time, and Pressure. Here are some guidelines for our Del Rey espresso:
Dry Dose: 18g of coffee in
Wet Dose: 38g of espresso out
Time: 26-29s
Pressure: 9-10bars
Roast Level: Medium
Philosopher's Blend
When crafting a coffee blend, the goal is harmony—each component fitting together like a perfect puzzle piece. Creating a great blend takes more than just coffee; it takes intention, balance, and a lot of thoughtful testing. The result is an incredibly smooth cup with warm yet bright notes of Apricot, Toasted Pecans, and Dark Chocolate, all wrapped up in a creamy finish.
We’ve carefully selected coffees from El Salvador, Honduras and Papua New Guinea to create a balanced, approachable drip blend designed to start your day just right.
An excellent choice for drip coffee, though versatile enough to shine with any brewing method. Best enjoyed when brewed between 200–203°F.
Roast Level: Medium
Papua New Guinea
Our latest South East Asian Coffee offering is from Sigri Estate in the Wahgi Valley, Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Coffee production in PNG is 85-90% smallholder coffees. Coffee, almost entirely, follows the same chain of custody: smallholder to cherry buyer to miller to exporter to importer to roaster. Coffee that changes hands so frequently can be problematic, leaving the smallholders vulnerable to exploitation, making even a basic level of traceability impossible, and often times quality is sacrificed in the process.
Sigri Coffee Estate is one of the very few “single estates” in Papua New Guinea. From the nursery to the loading container, even holding their own in-house export license, the estate personally manages the entire production process. This enables protection of estate pickers, consistent quality, and possibilities to experiment.
This enables protection of estate pickers, consistent quality, and possibilities to experiment. Ultimately, the connection of coffee producers to end consumers has allowed for complete traceability and social responsibility of all parties.
Soil and water conservation are a priority to Sigri and the estate is bird and eco-friendly. Sigri employs a medium density shade strategy, using two types of shade trees to promotes even ripening of coffee cherries while providing a habitat for at least 90 species of birds.
Sigri coffees are washed Arabica coffees that undergo a rigorous wet-mill factory process. Quality Control begins in the field; Cherries are hand-picked and carefully checked for ripeness and uniformity which allows for the correct balance of sugar and acid within the cherry. The selected cherries are pulped on the day of picking, followed by a 3-day fermentation process which is broken every 24 hours by washing. Unlike other coffees in the region, the Sigri process follows this by total immersion in water for a further day. This allows for a balanced flavor. After sun-drying, the coffees are carefully conditioned for 21 days, followed by destoning, hulling, grading, densitometric sorting, color sorting, and finally hand sorting.
“Kula” is a term used exclusively by this coffee producer, which refers to special processing guidelines. The “Kula” coffees are dried on raised beds and go
through two rounds of color-sorts and two rounds of hand-sorts. This extra processing creates one of the cleanest PNG coffees being produced today.
We typically find that coffees from the Asia/South Pacific growing region are able to withstand a darker roast in order to achieve it's peak flavor. In this carefully roasted Peaberry coffee, you'll find the traditional bold flavor of a SE Asian coffee. We tasted hints of tangy Elderberry, sweet Vanilla Bean, and Cinnamon spice, with a dark chocolate finish. This is the ideal coffee for a French Press, but tastes amazing on a pour-over as well. Brew at 200-202 degrees to get the best flavor possible.
Variety: Typica Peaberry
Altitude: 1600 masl
Processing: Fully washed and dried on raised beds
Roast: Medium-Dark