Burundi Buzira-Muruta Washed

I would have loved to be outside all afternoon, but alas my desk was calling me. Although I know that we need more winter weather, it is a gorgeous day today. It’s hard to believe that just a week ago the header picture on this email was of snow: it’s a balmy 60+ here, and I certainly didn’t need my jacket when I walked to pick up my kids from school. Trees are blossoming, the flowering quince is bringing its happy bright coral color to our yard, and the daffodils are poking their heads up.

From the archives: speaking of weather, I recently found this shot from last year. South Yuba River.

Beyond that, in our home there’s talk of baseball and summer ballet recitals, and that makes it feel like spring to me. This week we have a new coffee for you, that will be good no matter the season. It would be delicious hot, or refreshing as an iced coffee.

This is our Burundi Buzira-Muruta Washed. Burundi is a small landlocked African coffee, just south of Rwanda, and to the east of Tanzania. They have had many of the same ethnic issues as Rwanda, with much violence over the years. Civil unrest has led to an unstable economy, so building coffee commerce is essential for the farmers there.

This coffee comes from the northern part of the country, from smallholders organized around the Buzira washing station, in Kayanza province. The washing station is owned by Salum Ramadhan, a local, self made entrepreneur who is “invested . . . in his community and . . .his coffee washing stations and export business [run] like well oiled machines” (source here).

The author goes on to describe the washing station as: “The fermentation tanks and washing channels are immaculate, parchment dries in thin layers on well-organized beds, and Salum pays well above average for both daily labor and cherry deliveries from local farmers. Each station is also surrounded by a multi-purpose farm, serving as test plots for new varieties and as examples of a well-run garden for local smallholders.”

In the cup, all this care really shines. This is a sweet bean, that tastes of both the tartness of green apples and the sweetness of melon. It has a great acidity, and a flavor of sugar cane as you sip. You can try a cup on us this week with the code groundhog* (and in case you didn’t hear, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, and we’ll have six more weeks of winter). No matter the accuracy of his prediction, we’ll be enjoying good coffee. Cheers!
–Holly Fike

*Code good for one free 12 ounce cup of Burundi Buzira-Muruta Washed. Code expires on 02.08.18. Limit one free cup per customer please. Valid only at Carolines Coffee Roasters, 128 S. Auburn Street, Grass Valley, CA. Code/Offer has no cash value.