Burundi Nyabikenke

The Story Behind the Coffee

This coffee comes to us from the Nyabikenke Washing Station in the Kiremba Commune of Ngozi, Burundi. Located at 1867masl, Nyabikenke sits on a hill that shares the same name. The coffee is floated to separate out underripe and less dense cherries. The cherries that are separated out from floating are sold as a commercial grade coffee, keeping them out of this specialty lot. The cherries are then pulped, fermented in water for 24 hours, washed, and then dried for about 11 days on raised beds. 

All producers that bring their cherries to be processed at the Nyabikenke Washing Station live on 1 of 8 hills surrounding the station. Throughout the year, around 629 small holder farms deliver their cherries to Nyabikenke. These producers are trained to only pick ripe cherries. The typical farm is small, less than 1 hectare.

Nyabikenke Hill was named by the elders who, after analyzing the behavior of the locals, noted the extraordinary solidarity between the citizens. The elders said this solidarity was enforced by their regular gatherings with their traditional sorghum beer. “Nyabikenke” is derived from the word “Umukenke,” which is a plant Burundians use as a straw to drink the sorghum beer.