Last month’s Specialty Coffee Association of America conference drew the top coffee talent in the U.S., but didn’t stop there, as the mega-event magnetized the globe. Representatives from every coffee producing nation were on the showroom floor at the Anaheim Convention Center, and many pros were happy to discuss their nation’s caffeinated contributions. By no means will this offer you a full picture of a country’s coffee culture, but it is information from the source.

BURUNDI

I interviewed Lyse Kaneza Ndabambalire, a rep from ARFIC, the Burundi Coffee Regulation Authority.

Josh Lurie: A sogestal is an association of washing stations in Burundi?

Lyse Kaneza Ndabambalire: Exactly.

JL: How long has Burundi been producing coffee for?

LKN: It’s been awhile. Since 1980.

JL: How has the coffee changed in the last 30 years?

LKN: Now they associate more, the producers, like the Sogestal. Since 10 years ago, you can buy directly from the producers, which is a really good thing for the coffee business. Before that, you couldn’t buy directly from the producers. You had to buy by auction of the coffee boards. Now the coffee boards are controlling the quality of the coffee, and the sogestal is in charge of selling the coffee.

JL: How has the quality of the coffee changed in the last 30 years?

LKN: It’s improving. Over the years, they’re improving, for example, there weren’t different grades. Now they’ve learned to classify different grades. Now we’re working with specialty coffee. We teach producers how to work better on the process.

Lyse Kaneza Ndabambalire displayed a map featuring 16 different Burundi coffee growing regions.

JL: What is Burundi coffee known for? What flavors of characteristics?

LKN: The aroma and the sweet flavor. It’s not bitter. It’s really good coffee, because it’s grown in high mountains, and that’s what gives it the sweet flavor and rich aroma.

JL: What about the processing?

LKN: It’s fully washed coffee.

JL: What coffees do you have on the table?

LKN: This is roasted coffee from OCIBU, the coffee board. It’s Mwizero coffee, a full washed AA, roasted in Nashville, Tennessee. Mwizero means hope in Burundi. They call it hope because Burundi coffee is produced by small farmers. They earn their livelihood from the coffee. They use it to send children to school.

JL: Do you have a favorite coffee at the table?

LKN: Mwizero coffee.

JL: What do you like about it?

LKN: It has a rich aroma, and it’s always freshly roasted.