BURUNDI ROTHECA PROJECT – DECAFFEINATED

Description

“If you want to develop Burundi, develop the women” Angèle Ciza
The microclimate of the hills surrounding the Muramba and Butihinda washing stations create perfect conditions for coffee production for the more than 2,400 contributing producers, 80% of whom are women. A host of rivers criss-cross the region, and the microclimate of the hills enjoys abundant rainfall at an altitude of 1,800 m above sea level, a wonderful setting for the delicate and flavoursome Bourbon varieties to flourish.

This coffee, named Rotheca Women’s Project Swiss Water Process (SWP), is a partnership between Kalico, Phyllis Johnson of BD Imports and importers from RGC, and was organised to combat poverty and support coffee produced by women in Burundi. It not only represents the quality that Burundi has to offer, but also illustrates the leadership and perseverance of Ciza, whose work has improved the lot of thousands of farmers and remains a source of inspiration, above all for women, who own or administer almost 80% of Burundi’s estates.

In 2012, Angèle Ciza and a friend decided to launch a coffee business together. They bought seven washing stations which had been part of the former government-administered Sogestal programme, with the idea of working in close collaboration with the producers, allowing them to process and export Burundi’s finest coffees. Angèle knew that to produce coffee of the finest quality, she needed to forge alliances with the farmers delivering to her stations. From the very outset, the washing stations focused on agricultural outreach work with the producers, emphasising best practice for quality production. The stations offer the farmers advice on every aspect, from establishing plant nurseries to harvesting only the ripest cherries. Kalico continues to work directly with the farmers, helping to teach them about proper cherry selection.

As the farmers continue to improve the quality of their cherries, Angèle focuses her investments on additional skills development, access to inputs, micro-credits and micro-insurance, improving environmental protection and strengthening social infrastructure.
The farmers select the cherries by hand, and deliver them to the station every day.

On delivery, the cherry is left to float, to remove any remnants, and is depulped. The depulped coffee in parchment state is fermented for approximately 14 hours, and washed with fresh water. The staff classify the parchment before placing it on raised drying tables, where it remains for between 10 and 14 days. Once dry, the parchment coffee is stored in the clean and well-ventilated warehouse at the station, before being sent to the dry mill.

The Small Batch Swiss Water series is a limited edition programme which includes seasonal coffees, that are highly traceable and truly flavourful. The process begins with a batch of green coffee beans, which are soaked in water to remove the caffeine.

The water also removes many of the flavour compounds, but don’t worry! This is deliberate, and will help preserve the flavour of the coffee. The first batch of coffee beans is then discarded. This process is only performed once, as the mixture produced by soaking the grains, known as the green coffee extract (GCE) can be kept and reused to decaffeinate numerous batches of green beans.

The principle employed is that the water can only absorb a certain amount of flavour compounds and caffeine before it is completely saturated. Once the water is completely saturated, it can no longer take in any more flavour compounds, and is filtered to remove just the caffeine.

With the GCE fully saturated except for the caffeine, a new batch of green coffee is placed in the GCE. The only compound that the GCE can take in from the new coffee beans is the caffeine. All the rest remains in the beans, as the GCE is already saturated with these products and cannot absorb any more.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Area: Mount Rushombo, Muyinga province
Butihinda washing station
Producer: Small producers
Altitude: 1,500-1,800 m above sea level
Variety: Arabica – Bourbon
Process: Washed with dry fermentation
Drying: Raised tables
Aroma: Hints of cocoa
Flavour: A sweet cup of coffee with hints of brown sugar, dark chocolate,
pomegranate, black tea and strawberry.
Acidity: moderate.

A Specialty coffee is defined as any which, following a comprehensive examination and professional tasting, achieves more than 80 points on the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) scale. We are a little more demanding, and will not accept any coffee that scores below 82 points. Our Q-Grader and the other coffee supply professionals handle the process of this painstaking selection.

All our coffees are produced to order, and delivery times will therefore be approximately 5-6 days. Our prices include VAT.