Mwami - Burundi

A big crowd favourite here at JCT, occasionally featuring as a stand-alone espresso at our roastery and high street espresso bars. For us, Mwami is our go-to home brew, perfect as an aeropress.

Burundi is blessed with ideal coffee growing conditions that include high altitude, regular rainfall, volcanic soils with good organic structure and an abundance of Bourbon. This particular one is from the Izuba washing Station in Rununya, Kabarore Commune, of Kayanza Province. Izuba means "sun" in Kirundi.

The Izuba washing station is set close to a nearby river, providing a vital and regular freshwater source for coffee processing. The station is managed by Ntama Appolinaire, who works alongside Prosper Merrimee, the operational manager of RM Burundi. Izuba employs 2 full-time staff and around 250 seasonal workers, who are all local to the station. Izuba is situated near to the Kibira national park, where the soil and climate are paired well for fantastic coffee production.

The vast majority of Burundi coffee is produced by smallholders of which there are thought to be around half a million with parcels of land often not much larger than just one hectare per family.