BURUNDI | Karambo Washed

Located in Muyinga Province in northeastern Burundi, Kalambo Washing Station is a new washing station that began operations in March 2021. Coffee is produced under the direction of washing station manager Mr Etienne Girukwishaka, with the lofty ambition of "bringing the highest quality coffee Burundi has to the world while having a positive impact on the local community," and the station is currently operating with an emphasis on partnerships with farmers.

They pay farmers twice the normal price for fully ripe cherries, and are very conscious of the importance of quality. Cherries brought to the washing station are pulped within six hours of harvesting, and then undergo wet fermentation in a fermentation tank for 10 to 12 hours.

The berries are washed in a canal and graded into four levels (A1 to A4) based on their specific gravity. They are pre-dried (dried in the shade) for six hours in the wet parchment state and then hand-sorted. They are then dried on a drying bed for about 30 days, and when the moisture content reaches 11.5%, they are put into the warehouse and shipped out when it drops to 10.5%.