Burundi

CAFEX was launched by a Belgian-Burundian couple that wanted to combine the coffee production of their ancestral lands with sustainable development and a desire to improve the lives of the local population. The operation of the washing station is a huge challenge. Farmers work all day to handpick their coffee cherries, at sunset the coffee arrives at the CAFEX washing station. The processing takes place at night, while the reception of the cherries takes place from sunrise until the early hours of the night, allowing farmers to focus on providing the highest quality. This lot is milled and exported by Ikawa Nziza which began in 2013, and the mill is the first purpose-built specialty dry-mill in Burundi, designed to cater for high-quality microlot coffees. 

Ripe cherries are selected from daily pickings, and sun-dried on raised African beds, being turned every 2 hours for the initial days for even fermentation, and covered during the midday heat to prevent sun damage. Once optimum moisture levels have been reached, the coffee is transported for milling at Ikawa Nziza’s drymill in Gashoho commune between the towns of Ngozi and Muyinga.