NEMBA INTENSO

Nemba Intenso – Burundi

Origin: Burundi – Kayanza area (Kayanza)

Producer: Nemba washing station. 1,074 small producers.

Variety: Red Bourbon

Altitude: 1,700m+

Process: Natural with Intenso yeast inoculation

Harvest: March → July

Origin and Production

Located in the Kayanza region, northern Burundi, the Nemba washing station is managed by Greenco. It works with 1,074 producers whose farms are located at an altitude of over 1,700m, near the Kibira forest, and have an average of 150 coffee trees.

Greenco and the Nemba Washing Station support these producers by providing them with equipment, advice on adopting the best agricultural practices adapted to their farms, and also by providing them with coffee seedlings to renew their plantations.

Indeed, due to the fragmentation and small size of each producer's plots, many of them have coffee trees over 50 years old, reducing their productivity. However, it is impossible for them to replace them and wait 3 to 4 years for the newly planted trees to come into production. To encourage them to renew their trees, Greenco buys seeds, grows the plants in their nurseries, then distributes them when they are ready to produce.

Furthermore, through the work of our partner Sucafina, by purchasing our Burundian coffees we finance livestock which is distributed to producers to ensure their stability and enable their economic development.

This may seem anecdotal, but in a country where the unemployment rate is frequently above 50%, coffee production and associated programs are clearly the main driver of economic development.

Greenco is thus the largest employer in the Kayanza region during harvest season, and similarly, the Budeca processing station (sorting and bagging) employs more than 10% of the population of Burundi's capital, Gitega.

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Process

This coffee is produced using the Natural process with an inoculation of Intenso yeasts.

This means that once picked and brought to the processing station, the cherries are placed in containers where an Intenso yeast strain (Saccharomyces

cerevisiae) developed by the Lalcafé laboratory is added for a fermentation of about 36 hours.

This yeast was specially developed to improve cup quality. Indeed, it works very well at low temperatures (minimum 15°C), which allows for good control of fermentation and promotes the development of fruity notes and a citric acidity that brings freshness to the cup.

The cherries are then spread out to dry on one of the 200 raised tables at the Nemba station for 2 to 3 weeks. They are also regularly turned manually to ensure uniform drying and to carry out an initial sorting.