Bumba, Honey

Jammy blend of stewed red fruits, cranberry & honey.

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Farmers from Bumba Hill had to cross three rivers and pass two province borders to reach the nearest washing station. The dedication of these coffee farmers stood out to the Long Miles team, both in the field and on the cupping table. Coffee is the most important crop grown on the hill, closely competing with corn and beans. Year after year, Long Miles Coffee has met challenge after challenge trying to bring a washing station closer to Bumba Hill. Long Miles bought a piece of land on Ninga Hill, a stone's throw away from Bumba. And now after almost five years, Ninga Washing Station has produced its first micro-lots. Including this exceptional honey processed lot, a jammy blend of stewed red fruits, cranberry & honey.

--- Additional Info ~~~ In 2013, Long Miles Coffee built Bukeye, its first washing station, and produced its first bag of Burundi coffee. The volume of coffee cherries that were delivered to Bukeye during the first harvest season far outstripped the small washing station’s capacity. It turned out that coffee farming families were coming from far and wide, travelling more than three hours by foot to reach a washing station with fair scales and that paid a fair price for coffee cherries.

The dedication of coffee farmers in this region to producing quality coffee stood out to the Long Miles team, both in the field and on the cupping table.

Every year since then, Long Miles has been trying to bring a washing station closer to this community. In 2017, Long Miles bought a piece of land on Ninga Hill, a fifteen-kilometre drive from Bukeye Washing Station. However, significant changes in the country’s coffee regulatory board delayed the build-out of a washing station. It took them close to three years to cross the bureaucratic red tape. In 2022, they started building traditional African-raised drying beds and produced the first naturally-processed micro-lots of the season: Bumba, Giku and Ninga.

It takes a lot of time, resources and people to build a washing station in Burundi. It is their hope to see the Ninga Washing Station built to completion in time for next year’s coffee harvest season.

The farming communities that call Bumba home are far beyond the reach of clean drinking water and electricity. Step closer to the centre of the hill and you’ll find a local market where people sell baskets full of freshly harvested crops and trade other household essentials. Coffee farmers will walk or bicycle the day’s harvest of cherry to the Ninga Washing Station delivery site.

=== Suggested Recipe ~~~ In: 22g Out: 44g Time: 28sec Temp: 94.5°C

Sourced from the Bumba Hill region of Burundi, this Bumba Honey lot is produced by Long Miles Coffee and roasted by Five Senses. The coffee undergoes a honey process, a technique where a portion of the fruit mucilage remains on the bean during drying. This method often bridges the gap between washed and natural profiles, frequently resulting in a balanced sweetness and a syrupy mouthfeel.

In the cup, this specific offering presents notes of stewed red fruits, cranberry, and honey. When evaluating such profiles, it is helpful to reference a flavor wheel to better identify the nuances of these fruit-forward characteristics. Because honey-processed coffees retain more sugars than their washed counterparts, they often exhibit a distinct clarity that highlights the unique terroir of the Bumba Hill landscape. This selection serves as a compelling example of the meticulous work being done by producers in this region to refine post-harvest processing.