RAMA | Burundi | Natural [female farmed]

Flavor       Blackberry | Grapefruit 

Body           Medium | Sirupy
Acidity       Grapefruit

Cooperative: This coffee is not only delightfully unique for it's exceptionally spicy profile, but also because it enables disenfranchised women in Burundi to develope their own capitol in a country where women are not allowed to own land and are thus left dependant on/subject to the strong patriarchal structures traditional of the culture. Marie-Annonciate was, understandably, deeply frustrated by this and recently began galvanizing women within her region near the Mubuga Washing Station towards the fight for their access to land tenure. Marie-Annonciate and her fellow female farmer's movement soon caught the attention and subsequent support of the Kahawatu Foundation who aided/advised them in their attempt to democratize their countries patriarchal land ownership laws. Greenco, a company focussed on the support, organization, education and social advocacy of washing stations within the region also got involved by supporting them through the application process for a petition to the government. Although the women of the Association lobbied the government for years, they were unsuccessful in gaining access to land ownership rights. Nonetheless, a local community member offered the women his land on lease where the Rama Women's Association works now providing women in the coffee farming industry of Burundi a chance to work in an environment providing women with more equity. 

The Rama Women's Association, despite it's troubles with local legislation, has become a pillar of hope in the fight for gender equality in the coffee farming community. The association has continued to receive support from social organizations, who have aided in their application of Good Agricultural Practices on both individual and communal farms, increasing the association's production from an average of 0.7Kg to 2kg of coffee per tree. 

Process: Cherries are hand picked and delivered by Rama members to the local Mubuga Washing Station where each grower's coffee is traceable. Quality is top priority at the washing station and as soon as the coffee arrives, the cherries are floated in buckets to check for initial defects. Greenco, however, still buys the damaged/underripe floaters but separates the two and categorizes them at a lower quality. Regardless, the rest of the higher quality coffee are sorted by hand to, yet again, check for any defects or under/overripe cherries. Once the sorting is completed the coffees are then transferred to beds where they are left to slowly dry for a period of 3-4 weeks. During this period of drying the the coffee is checked by pickers for any defects missed in past sorting efforts as well as covered with a tarp to protect them during the hottest part of the day or when it rains.

Once the coffee has been dried to 11.5% moisture, it is then bagged and transported to the warehouse on site where Greenco cuppers grade each batch. 

Varietals:

Bourbon is one of the most famous varieties of arabica coffee and is a natural mutation of Typica. This coffee is native to Yemen and got it's name when it was propagated on the french colonized island of Bourbon which is now known as "La réunion". This varietal is known for exceptional quality, medium yield, and high susceptibility to coffee plant diseases such as Leaf rust and CBD or pests like nematodes. Bourbon is uniquely buttery, nutty and mildly fruity with a relatively low acidity but high sweetness. Typical notes of Bourbon coffee tend to mingle around chocolate and fig.