Masanganzira mill is located in Gashosho commune, Muyinga province, just a few minutes' drive from Ikawa Nziza dry mill. It is managed by Pierre, a relatively large-scale farmer by Burundian standards. Pierre started producing raised bed naturals in 2020 and has been building a washing station to process fully washed coffee in the future. This lot is a combination of coffee from Pierre's farm as well as those from other local smallholder farmers who deliver to his washing station.
This lot is milled and exported by Ikawa Nziza which began in 2013 as a partnership between the owners of Cafex mill and Schluter (now Covoya Europe), specifically aimed at building and promoting the speciality coffee production in Burundi. Ikawa Nziza’s mill is the first purpose-built speciality drymill in Burundi, situated at altitude and designed to cater for high-quality microlot coffees.
History of Coffee in Burundi
During colonization, Belgians forced the people of Burundi to grow coffee to pay taxes, an all too familiar story. So, it is understandable that after independence, the farmers of Burundi were less than enthusiastic about growing coffee and there was almost no focus on quality. When world coffee prices dropped to historic lows 20 years ago, prices paid to farmers by government-run washing stations were so low that coffee was smuggled into neighbouring countries to be sold as Rwandan or Tanzanian coffee. When prices began to rise and become relatively stable, Burundi coffee farmers in the northern highlands did not forget that Rwanda received better prices for quality. The coffee farmers of Burundi began to emulate some of what was happening in Rwanda, forming cooperatives and seeking ways to improve quality
The Process
Ripe cherries (superior quality) 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. The drying process takes an average of 22 days.
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. The mill is designed to cater to small, traceable microlots. Its location in a high altitude (1,730masl) and low humidity environment provides the optimal environment to preserve the quality of the coffee and therefore demand higher prices for farmers. From there the processed coffee is handpicked, bagged in Grainpro and then trucked to Mombasa for shipment.
