Burundi Migoti Hill

Region: Bujumbura Altitude: 1,700 m.a.s.l. Variety: Red Bourbon Processing: Natural

UK Arrival: May 2026

Tasting Notes: Once again Migoti Hill delivers a bold and syrupy cup. Think of forest fruit compote, strawberry jam and rosehip jelly held up by a round texture and floral finish.

We’ve been buying coffee from Migoti Coffee Company since 2022 when our Head of Coffee worked at their washing station during the harvest period. This year we were lucky enough to secure two lots, this one and another washed lot, which we’re using as our house espresso. This naturally processed lot has trademark berry compote notes and a satisfying syrupy texture. 

This coffee was grown in the Mutambu Commune of the Mumirwa region, Burundi. One hundred and seventy-three smallholders contributed to the lot, including the lead farmer, Thomas Kurubone. After harvesting, the farmers sold their cherries to Migoti, who processed it at their washing station. Here, the coffee cherries were sorted, fermented for 24 hours and then dried directly in the sun on raised beds for three to four weeks.

About Migoti

Founded in 2015 by engineers Pontien Ntunzwenimana and Dan Brose, Migoti Coffee aims to improve the livelihoods of local coffee farmers by connecting them with international buyers and roasters through quality processing and transparent supply chains. The company operates two coffee washing stations, Kinama Hill and Migoti Hill, nestled in the mountains of the Bujumbura Rural Province and works with a growing number of smallholder farmers to produce high quality coffee.

Prior to 2015, the multi-generational coffee farmers in Pontien’s home community had all but abandoned coffee as a source of income due to the 12-year civil war, during which their Arabica coffee trees were neglected and destroyed. Another challenge was the great distance between their small farms and washing stations, which meant farmers had to dry coffee naturally on their farms. Their lack of equipment and training in quality control meant that the coffee they produced lost a lot of value. Crucially, they also didn’t have access to the specialty market, where the true value of their coffee could be realised.

Today, Migoti has 10 full time employees and hires an additional 250 seasonal workers to manage the busy harvest period. They’re assigned into teams that manage the different stages of processing: 

Cherry collection, where cherries are weighed, floated, and grouped together depending on grade and the hill they come from;

Pulping, where floated cherries are run through the pulping machines. Fermentation, where cherries are separated into vats and left to ferment for different periods of time according to what process their lot has been assigned;

Washing, where fermented coffee gets pushed through the grading channels and its mucilage rinsed away;

Pre-drying, where coffee is spread out to dry in the shade for 2 to 3 days while being rigorously sorted;

Main drying, where coffee is laid out to dry under the sun, getting covered at night or when rain is due. Teams here carry out further sorting while turning the coffee regularly;

Quality control, where coffee gets cupped on a regular basis, checking that every lot is up to standards. An extra group is also stationed at the dry mill Migoti uses. These team members oversee Migoti’s coffee as it is hulled and sorted again before being bagged for export.

In order to make sure the farmers they work with are harvesting from the best quality trees, Migoti distributes seedlings that they have cultivated themselves. Over the last year, Migoti have planted another 44,208 coffee seedlings, raising the cumulative number of trees they have planted since operations began to over 350,000.

Migoti also offers microfinancing to the farmers they’ve worked with year-on-year. Coffee isn’t a reliable cash crop because in most places there is only one harvest each year, which means farmers only get paid only once per year. Often, farmers who

This natural-processed Red Bourbon from the Migoti Coffee Company in Burundi's Bujumbura region exemplifies how natural processing can amplify fruit-forward characteristics in a varietal prized for its sweetness. Steampunk Coffee's tasting notes—forest fruit compote, strawberry jam, and rosehip jelly—suggest the coffee delivers layered stone fruit and berry complexity, anchored by a round mouthfeel that carries into a delicate floral finish. The combination of altitude, terroir, and dry-process fermentation creates a coffee where fruit and florals intertwine, inviting exploration across the sensory spectrum.