We are thrilled to feature Cincinnati, Ohio-based Proud Hound Coffee as our guest roaster this month! We're spotlighting a unique washed-process coffee they roasted from Ngozi, Burundi.
Here's a bit more about this coffee from the importer, Osito:
The coffee you are tasting comes from a producing neighbor of Long Miles: Therence Nduwayezu. When you step into Therence’s office in the bustling centre of Ngozi town, you’ll find he’s not just a coffee producer. He’s a general trader and owns a fleet of vehicles that transport export goods between Burundi and neighboring Tanzania.
2019 marked the year of big changes for coffee producer Therence and the Gatukuza washing station.
It was the first year they produced day lots, as opposed to bulk lots that lacked delivery traceability. It was the first year they cupped through all the coffee they produced. These changes obviously paid off as it also happened to be the first year their fully washed coffee won first place at Burundi’s annual Cup Of Excellence competition!
Gatukuza washing station is nestled in the Gashikanwa commune, in the northern province of Ngozi. The people who call Gatukuza home grow almost everything they love to eat- bananas, potatoes, beans, maize, sweet potatoes, peas- wrapping the hill in every imaginable green. 600 farmers from 8 neighboring hills deliver the cherries to Gatukuza washing station. Therence and his team also mapped out the regions that are far from the washing station or don’t have access to any nearby washing station. That’s how they picked the 112 spots to create transit centers - cherry collection and quality check points set up on the coffee hills that shorten the distance farmers have to travel to deliver their cherries. More than 10,000 farmers from 9 communes delivered their cherries at these transit centers this season.
When the washing station first opened, there were 250 traditional African raised tables. There are now 500 drying tables scattered across the washing station with the plan to add 300 more.
Farmers will selectively hand pick and float their cherries at home before delivering them. The day’s bounty of cherries is carried by head or bicycle to reach the washing station where they are processed. There is one small pre-selection table and floating station where farmers will take their cherries when they reach the station and the quality of their cherries is checked again.
So much hard work has gone into this coffee - from growing to harvesting to roasting - and we hope you get a chance to enjoy it while it's at Sightsee.
Special thanks to our pal Matt Massara for introducing us to the crew at Proud Hound!
