With honey processing, the demucilage machinery can be adjusted to leave more or less fruit on the seed. Honey coffees with a lot of sticky mucilage left intact tend to be the more fruited types, and not to mention, often trade acidity for big body. But If very little mucilage is left on and the coffee is rinsed the following day, you can achieve a cup that is right in line with a fully washed/fermented coffee - clean, crisp, and even bright. And that's what we have here with Kibingo, a clean example of honey process coffee. Kibingo Station is a coffee cherry collection site located in Kayanza, Burundi's northern province that borders neighboring Rwanda. The washing station acts as a central delivery site for a few thousand small holder famers who occupy the 18 hills that surround Kibingo. Kibingo sits at just under 1900 meters above sea level, and many of the farmers have coffee planted much higher than this. Kibingo is named after reeds that are growing in the river running alongside the station site, planted in order to help keep the soil at the banks from eroding. They've been around since the mid 1980s, and last year Kibingo took 1st place at the Burundi Cup of Excellence competition. This Kibingo lot is an example of how honey processing doesn't necessarily translate to a fruit forward coffee. Rather, Kibingo is centered around deep sweetness and delicate accent notes.
This is another beautiful Farm Gate coffee that is good for espresso.
Cupping Notes: toasted sugar, loose-leaf black teas, dried currant, and brilliant lemongrass tea notes
Brew Recommendations: Drip, French Press, pour over, espresso
Farm Gate Coffee: Farmers paid at least 50% above Fair Trade
Varietal: Bourbon
Region: Kayanza Province
Altitude: 1900 meters
Process: Honey processed and sun-dried on raised beds
Equity Pricing (EP) Levels
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Sustaining Level: $16 per 12 oz bag (check out subscriptions for deep discounts) | More info below
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Uplifting Level: $20 per 12 oz bag (check out subscriptions for deep discounts) | More info below
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Benefacting Level: $24 per 12 oz bag (check out subscriptions for deep discounts) | More info below