Burundi is (thankfully) back after a (too long) hiatus in our coffee lineup!
Masha Coffee Washing Station is located in Burundi, which is a country well-known for its coffee production. The sub-hill where the washing station stands is called Masha, meaning “herds of cattle” in Kirundi, due to its historical association with cattle herding.
The washing station was established in 1989, and it primarily purchases coffee cherry from subsistence farmers who intercrop their trees with food and other cash crops. In order to encourage farmers to renovate their plantings, Greenco, the company that oversees the washing station, purchases seeds from the Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi (ISABU), establishes nurseries, and sells the seedlings to farmers at or below cost.
During the harvest season, all coffee is selectively hand-picked, and quality assurance begins as soon as farmers deliver their cherry. Cherries are wet-processed under constant supervision, and the pulping, fermentation time, washing, grading in the channels, and a final soaking are all closely monitored. Once dry, the parchment is then bagged and taken to the warehouse. Greenco’s team of expert cuppers assess every lot at the lab before shipment.
The coffee is sent to Budeca, Burundi’s largest dry mill, where it is milled and hand-sorted by a team of hand-pickers who look closely at every single bean to ensure zero defects. The mill produces an average of 300 containers of 320 bags per year.
