About This Coffee
Gakenke gets its history from the hospitality and sharing nature of the Burundian people and their love for their home-brewed beers. The region is home to quite an abundance of banana trees, and so these trees bring an abundance of urwawa. The drinking of urwawa was done so using a clay pot called “intango” and small straws called “imikenke” (where the name of Gakenke comes from).
This coffee is produced in Kayanza, Burundi, with 2600 producers taking care of the farms that are roughly 0.06 hectares in size. The coffee is grown at similar heights ranging between 1672m – 1700m, suggesting that the topography is consistent throughout. Every cherry is floated in small buckets as a first step to check the overall quality. After floating, the higher-quality cherries are hand sorted to remove all damaged, underripe, and overripe cherries. Finally, they are separated into high and low grades for processing.
The station workers trample the parchment in the fermentation tank, which helps remove mucilage from the parchment itself. The parchment is then washed, cleaned, and moved into the washing-grading canal, which is separated once more to get the most-dense beans.
The farmers supported by Good Agricultural Practices (G.A.P) are trained with a focus on farm management, coffee tree pruning, climate change impacts, and mulching practices. They are also encouraged to take on information provided to them about how to manage their financial situations best. This helps build a strong sense of financial literacy among the farmers, who can develop this knowledge to expand their businesses.
Farm Information
Origin: Burundi
Region: Kayanza
Farm/Coop/Mill: Gakenke
Producer: Various
Variety: Red Bourbon
Process: Fully Washed
Altitude: 1672 - 1700masl
Harvest: November - December
Sourcing Partner: Bennetts Coffee
Quality Report: (85.5/100)
Roast Level: Light
Aroma(7/10): Toffee, caramel
Sweetness(8/10): Marmalade-like sweetness
Flavour(8/10): Orange, spice, rum, raisin, caramel
Aftertaste(8/10): A long finish of toffee, rum and raisin notes
Acidity(8/10): Medium, citric acidity like orange
Mouthfeel/Body(8.5/10): Creamy mouthfeel and medium-heavy body
Balance & Overall(8/10): A rich, creamy mouthfeel coffee with marmalade-like sweetness and rum, raisin finish. Heavier than typical washed coffee.
Brew Methods
