This coffee comes from the hill Gishubi in northern Burundi and is a fruity coffee with incredibly lively flavours of raspberry, blood orange and brown sugar.

The coffee is produced by Long Miles Coffee Project which is run by Ben & Kristy Carlson. They moved to Burundi in 2011 and saw that both injustice and poor farming practices flowed through the country's coffee industry. They also saw that roasters around the world had a hard time getting consistently good coffee from Burundi. In an endeavour to see a positive change in both farmers’ and roasters’ lives, Long Miles Coffee was born.

In recent years, Long Mile's challenges have gone from difficult to positive. For three years in a row the yield was extremely low, but in 2022 they turned it around and thanks to their hard and meticulous work they got a fantastic harvest with lots of high-quality coffee. Suddenly the challenge was to take care of all the coffee cherries at the washing station instead. A very welcome problem.

Thanks to our Christmas campaign where SEK 10 per kilo Christmas coffee we sold went directly to a project where we put solar cells on the roof of the Heza washing station, next year's post-harvest work will be even more efficient!

At the roastery, we simply call them "Long Miles". We have worked closely with them since 2014 and know each other very well by now. At harvest, they always send a lot of samples based on our discussions throughout the year and what they think may appeal to us. There are always a lot of good coffees and some that really stands out in a crowd.

Gishubi Hill is right next to the forest of Kibira National Park. The cool mist from the forest, at an altitude of 2200 meters, contributes to tasty and full-bodied coffee cherries. Long Miles came to the area in 2014 when the Heza washing station was built. Thanks to the hard work of their coffee scouts who train the farmers, Long Miles has managed to make a change. Together, by planting shade trees, proper pruning, composting and using natural fertilizers, they slowly have improved the condition of the small farms. Now the farmers know that the more they invest in their farms, the more they will get paid for their coffee.

Heza washing station is located right next to the coffee farms which means that the producers no longer have to make long journeys by foot to distant washing stations, nor sell their crop at a low price to have someone come pick it up. Today, 291 farmers on Gishubi hill deliver coffee to the nearby washing station Heza - and get paid well for the high quality they produce!

Burundi Gishubi is a washed coffee, which means that the pulp is removed, and the coffee beans are washed before being dried. It is an incredible craft that greatly affects the flavour of the coffee. To use only perfectly ripe cherries, the process begins with the coffee in this lot being sorted twice immediately upon arrival at the washing station. Peel and pulp are removed, and the coffee is placed in basins to dry ferment for about 12 hours in a controlled process. When ready, the coffee is fermented once more for 24 hours, but now covered with water. The fermentations are done to loosen the mucilage layer from the coffee beans. It is the inner part of the pulp that is attached to the bean. The coffee is then rinsed with clean water and sorted once more to remove any defects. A day later, the coffee is placed on raised beds where it dries for two to three weeks. This whole process requires a lot of care and is one of the things that sets good washing stations apart from the rest. The result is a fantastic specialty coffee full of nuanced flavours!

Name: Burundi Gishubi
Origin: Burundi
Region: Kayanza
Producer: Long Miles Coffee
Farm: Gishubi
Altitude: 2200 m
Variety: Red Bourbon
Taste Notes: Raspberry, Blood Orange, Brown Sugar
Coffee process: Washed