For the fourth consecutive year, we are very happy to present a coffee produced by our friends from Long Miles Coffee Project, in Burundi. This year we chose Munyinya, a café from the very first hill that Ben and Kristy Carslon, the founders, worked with on their project. Munyinya is located in the Muramvya region, in the heart of Burundi. Here are some words from the founders: “Munyinya was the first hill that made us realize that Burundian coffee had the potential to produce incredible microlots. Munyinya is just beyond the border with the commune named Bukeye. The dirt road that winds up the hill is on the side of the mountains and offers cinematic views of the valleys below. Coffee trees line the slopes that lead to the small town centre. Despite its beauty, it is a hill that we almost abandoned because year after year farmers continued to deliver poor quality cherries. But, when a hill holds as strong as Munyinya, we have to roll up our sleeves and devote our efforts to it day after day.’ Long Miles Coffee Project is a wonderful example of the impact specialty coffee can have on communities. What started out as a simple community project is now a vast system allowing hundreds of producers to access specialty market prices. This year again, this collaboration with Long Miles Coffee Project was made possible thanks to our import partner Osito Coffee. Grown at an altitude between 1700 and 2100 meters, this coffee is made from the Bourbon variety. It is picked when fully ripe and sorted by flotation first, then by hand, in order to remove the cherries that are too ripe or not ripe enough. It is then pulped using a mechanical pulper, then fermented dry for 12 hours and then in a basin of water for another 12 hours. Finally, it is passed under a stream of water to remove the remaining mucilage, before being dried slowly and under permanent control on raised beds for 16 to 20 days. Fruity and delicate, it offers a complex taste in both espresso and filter.