Burundi Masha Washing Station

About Burundi Masha Washing Station

Arrived early May 2025, new crop in Grainpro lined bags.

Coffee from the  Masha Washing Station has been one of our top picks a few times over the years and regular Burundi coffee buyers will be familiar with Kayanza Province from which it hails. Built in 1989, the washing station sits at 1672 meters above sea level and processes the coffee cherry of a little under 1200 smallholder farms in the area. The majority of coffee is grown by subsistance farmers, who grow food crops for their own supply as well as some cash crops (like coffee), not on larger factory farms or plantations, as is the norm in other countries. The average smallholder farmer has only about 250 coffee trees which produce only 500 to 600 pounds of coffee cherries; the quantity of coffee beans from those cherries is only about half that weight. In short, each producer grows about 2 to 3 sixty kilo bags worth of coffee a year.

Once picked, coffee is rushed to the local washing station for processing. Traditional processing in Burundi involves pulping the coffee and "dry fermenting" it up to twelve hours, at which point it gets washed in clean mountain water for another 12-24 hours. The beans are then soaked for an additional 12-18 hours before being dried in parchment on raised beds. The Masha Washing Station has 170 drying beds and is capable of processing 750 metric tons of coffee a year. Coffee growing is extremely important to families there as well as to the country at large.

Protais Siniremera, Sustainablity and Washing Station Manager

The first Cup of Excellence Competition for Burundi took place in 2012, where coffee from this washing station took 13th place. In 2014, coffee lots from Masha won 8th and 17th place, and in 2017 a washed bourbon (like this coffee) won 7th place.

Workers tend to drying beds

The popularity of specialty coffee production has risen in Burundi in recent years, as it earns higher premiums for farmer members of washing stations. Coffee marketing legislation enacted in 2008 allows for direct sales contracts between Burundian producers and international coffee buyers, roasters and importers (exportation and marketing were previously controlled by the government). This legislation also permits the payment of a quality premium to those responsible for producing "specialty" coffee, which follows a similar model in Rwanda where coffee quality has seen major improvement in recent years.

Cherries ready to be processed

• Washing Station:Masha
• Province: Kayanza
• Commune: Gatara
• Altitude: 1672 Meters above sea level
• Coffee variety: Red Bourbon
• Processing: Washed, double soaked

Cup Characteristics: Flavors of red apple, Meyer lemon, butterscotch, baker's chocolate and a touch of spice. Tannic and smooth on the palate, and acetic like rice wine vinegar. Starts succulent and mouth filling but ends dry. Clean and sweet.

Roasting Notes: Bourbon coffees tend to be sturdy and dense, and as such can be roasted to most levels. Our personal preference is to pull at the very start of 2nd Crack; at this level some high notes are present while the chocolate elements of the coffee are well defined.