Our Kayanza, Burundi offerings are part of a Café Imports project where a quality premium is paid above the normal "market rate," and this premium is paid directly back to the farmers. Burundi is just south of Rwanda but miles and miles away in the cup. The two countries share much: the same tribes, the same coffee varieties, and a similar history, but the cups are not even related. This is a case of terroir.

Coffee in Burundi is a logistics challenge for importers. It is a particularly poor country, tied with Congo for the lowest GDP in Africa. The tiny landlocked nation also shares the same tribal conflicts that Rwanda has experienced; unlike in Rwanda, however, they’ve never been reconciled. In spite of all this, our work and investment on the ground over the years has allowed us to consistently get the coffees we are proud of and that many of you have grown to love.