$14.75
Coffee: Burundi Kalico, Fully Washed Arabica
Certifications: None
Roast Recommendation: Medium to Medium Dark Roast
Cupping Profile: Dark chocolate, apple and grapefruit sweetness, baking spice, loosing a bit of elegance with wood like character, medium acidity and full body
Main Producing Region: Stations in Kirundo and Muyinga Provinces
Processing Methods: Fully Washed
Genetic Varieties: Primarily Bourbon
In 2012, Kahawa Link Company (Kalico, for short), was started by Angele Ciza and her friend Consolata who decided to go into the coffee business together. They purchased seven washing stations that had been part of the old government-run Sogestal program, with the idea of working in close partnership with growers so they could process and export Burundi’s best coffees.
The washing stations are in the Kirundo and Muyinga Provinces in North-Eastern Burundi, each serving 1,000-3,000 small scale farmers who grow primarily the bourbon varietal.
To improve the quality of the coffee produced, Angele began with outreach to the local farmers to ensure best practices from nurseries to picking. As the quality and value of the coffee increases she is investing in additional training, environmental protection, inputs, micro-credit, micro-insurance, and social infrastructures in partnership with the producer organizations that deliver to their washing stations.