Burundi - Rubirizi Hill FW [Auction Lot]

Our final lots from the 25/26 Burundian season is a washed/natural pair from Rubirizi hill, which we secured from the LMCP private auction. Rubirizi is in the catchment zone for Bukeye, which is the OG long miles station, and these top lots stood out to us on multiple rounds of sample cuppings.

We really enjoyed the particular darker fruit notes and concentrated character of the Rubirizi washed, on every table this lot was a particular standout.

Brew Guide:

Best Brewed with: Filter

Lightest Roaster Influence: Nicely sorted Burundi - super dense, hit hard with heat for a snappy roast.

Best Rested: 4+ weeks

Filter: 62g/L, 96°C water when fresh but go down to 93°C with rest

Espresso: 18g/48g/22-25s, good turbo/soup

We're tasting: Aromatics of black tea, lemon and honey alongside stewed fruits, in the cup we find dark summer berries - blackcurrants and wild brambles, alongside plum, with chamomile aromatics. As it cools becoming a little more stewed assam, with milk chocolate butter biscuit and a little bit of ripe tomato (pleasantly sweet-savoury), reminding us of a Kenya-esq profile

Traceability

The Story

Bukeye is Long Miles Coffee Project's founding washing station, built in 2013 at the foot of Gaharo hill, on the border between Muramvya and Kayanza provinces. It was the first station the project established, and remains the site where the Coffee Scout programme, since expanded across the company's other stations, first began. Cherry is received daily during harvest and kept separate by hill of origin throughout processing.

Rubirizi hill lies just east of Gaharo, within Kayanza province, and delivers its cherry to Bukeye for processing. The hill is planted predominantly to Bourbon, although there is likely also Jackson, Mibirizi, and Kent being grown. Its geographic origin, at altitude and within this specific catchment, places it among the group of hills that make up Bukeye's wider producer base.

Farmers on Rubirizi are supported by Long Miles' Coffee Scouts, locally recruited agronomists who work directly with producers throughout the year on pest management, tree health and cherry selection. This ongoing agronomic support sits alongside the daily cherry reception and hill level separation carried out at the station, together underpinning the quality and consistency of what reaches the drying tables.

This is our first year purchasing coffee from Bukeye and from the producers of Rubirizi hill. The lot was sourced through the Long Miles private auction, where day lots of exportable coffee are separated out for quality and sold directly to roasters, returning a higher premium to the station and the producers who deliver to it.