Burundi Gatukuza Women Group
Burundi & What Makes Great Coffee
When trying great coffee for the first time, people often ask: What makes it taste so good? There are several answers. First, it matters where your coffee is coming from. All of our coffee is single-origin, meaning that the coffee beans in each bag come from one distinct location: ensuring a more pure, clean, and high-quality flavor profile. Second, great coffee is in the way that it’s grown: what farming practices are used, and what environmental factors are involved.
Our Burundi coffee was grown at high altitudes in the fertile Kayanza district, a region located in Burundi’s northern province bordering Rwanda. These farmers have dedicated their entire lives to producing a quality product; the amazing flavor is the result of many years of hard work.
Beautifully smooth and balanced, our Burundi coffee comes alive with notes of buttery toffee, peach, candied orange, and berry in every sip. As the coffee cools, subtle caramel flavors, a hint of tamarind, and a creamy chocolate mouthfeel can be found in the finish. Burundi is known for producing coffee with incredible body and natural sweetness -- and ours is no exception. The exquisite flavor, paired with the knowledge that every purchase directly supports women coffee farmers across the world, is what makes this coffee so special.
Burundi & the Importance of Direct Trade
Though coffee is a huge part of everyday life, coffee farmers around the world are still struggling to make a living wage. Coffee producers are extremely vulnerable to poverty, food scarcity, and limited legal protection -- and with rising global temperatures making it increasingly difficult to grow coffee, their livelihoods are at greater risk than ever before. This is why we’re dedicated to providing direct-trade, fair-trade certified coffee.
If you’re wondering exactly what that means, it means that we’re in direct relationship with our coffee producers and are committed to preserving their livelihoods by paying them premium prices and strengthening local communities. To us, transparency is of utmost importance; we want to know exactly who’s growing our coffee, what tools they need to thrive, and how we as a small business can empower them and their families. This is why we source our Burundi coffee directly from the farmers of the Burundi Kayanza Gatukuza, a group dedicated to empowering women farmers. We believe that the difference can be both tasted and felt, and a truly amazing cup of coffee comes from the knowledge that farmers are being empowered in the process.
Advocating for Burundi’s Women
Though more and more women are taking on leadership roles within the coffee industry, gender inequality is still a pressing issue -- especially amongst coffee producers. In 2015, the SCAA identified four key areas in which the gender gap amongst coffee producers are most pronounced. First, women coffee producers are less likely than their male counterparts to own land; second, they’re more likely to take on the brunt of physical labor; third, they are paid less than their male counterparts; and fourth, they are given fewer leadership positions.
As a woman-owned company, we recognize that women coffee producers need more protection and representation. This is why we’ve sourced our Burundi coffee from the Burundi Gatukuza Women Co-op , a pioneering women’s empowerment group made up of 500+ small-holder farmers. By sourcing women-produced coffee, our mission is to celebrate women-owned farms and provide women coffee farmers with both financial and emotional support. Since the beginning, we’ve made it a priority to fund local community projects that uplift women and children specifically, such as investment workshops, the building of dorms and libraries, and training in sustainable farming practices. There’s no question that Burundi coffee tastes amazing -- but what makes it even better is the assurance that your cup of coffee is benefitting women farmers across the globe.
