Nemba Burundi
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The Nemba Burundi is a single Origin Microlot coffee bean with a cupping score of 85. Rich cocoa, smooth sweet caramel and a mellow dried grapefruit tartness, with fruit-sweetness. Bright and fresh finish.
The cup
Rich cocoa, smooth sweet caramel and a mellow dried grapefruit tartness, with fruit-sweetness. Bright and fresh finish.
The Bourbon cherries are a natural mutation of a Typica coffee cultivated in Yemen and transported to the island of Réunion (which was previously known as Île Bourbon). It is known for sweet, nutty flavours, with the various coloured cherries (red, yellow, pink and orange) giving genuinely different cup experiences.
The Producer
Like many of its neighbours in Africa, Burundi produces microlots almost by default. The Nemba Washing Station is located in Kayanza, close to the Rwandan border. The local farmers bring their harvest to the washing station. Each farmer has around 168 trees growing on a plot of land around the size of a football pitch. Alongside the coffee, they also grow bananas, yams, taro and cassava. This means they do not have the space or yield to justify processing the coffee beans themselves. Visiting the 21 washing stations in this area and cupping their coffees is fundamental to discovering the very best practices, cleanest cups and highest-quality.
The country
Burundi is a tiny landlocked country, not much bigger than the combined size of Wales and Yorkshire! Furthermore, it is one of the poorest in the World, so it’s a small miracle that its coffee achieves some of the highest cupping scores in the World.
Every year Burundi’s harvest is awaited with giddy anticipation. The harvest occurs between March and July and arrive in the UK in the last quarter of the year. These are sugar-fruit coffees: think fig jam, floral, sparkling with citrus. Finding the small microlots with the most character, structured acidity and sparkle takes time and dedication.
The process
Burundi microlots are selected from daily lots produced at centralised washing stations based on cup quality. Coffees in Burundi tend to undergo a ‘dry fermentation’ of roughly 12 hours after de-pulping, followed by a soak of 12–14 hours in mountain water. Coffees are floated to sort for density, then soaked again for 12–18 hours before being dried in parchment on raised beds. The anaerobic fermentation of this particular coffee is achieved by placing the freshly harvested cherries inside a sealed container for a period before processing. This allows the beans to exhibit an increase in the intensity of fruit and acidity and a slight increase in the body.
Sourcing: Producer images provided by Café Imports
| Source | |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Region | Kayanza |
| Wash station | Nemba Washing Station |
| Roast | Medium roast |
| Cupping score | 85 |
| Altitude | 2000m |
| Flavour | cocoa, dried grapefruit, mild caramel |
| Process | Anaerobic |
| Variety | Bourbon |
2 reviews for Nemba Burundi
A cupping score is a 100-point metric, established by the Specialtiy Coffee Association (SCA), used by certified Q Graders to evaluate the quality of coffee beans. It measures attributes like aroma, flavour, acidity, body, and balance. The grading is as follows:
Cupping Score | Grade |
|---|---|
90-100 | Speciality – Competition |
85>90 | Speciality – Excellent |
80>85 | Speciality – Very good |
>80 | Commercial/Commodity |
75% of Cupper’s Journey’s coffees are 85+ and any new coffees we stock will all be at least 85.
Read more about it in the Beyond the Bean article:
Once opened and exposed to air, roasted coffee starts to oxidise. The greater the surface area, the quicker this process. This is why we recommend, where possible, that you buy your beans whole and grind to order.
Our coffee comes with the roasted date on pack. We like our coffee to ‘settle’ after roasting for around 2 weeks to ‘de-gas’. The lighter the roast level, the longer the settling period needed. Freshly roasted light coffee is packed with CO₂. Resting allows this gas to escape, reducing acidity and allowing complex flavours (fruitiness, acidity, sweetness) to develop.
We recommend that you consume our beans within 4 months of the roast date following the settling period. That said, coffee beans will easily keep for 12 months if stored correctly.
Coffee should not be stored in the Fridge or Freezer but in an airtight container in a cool dark place. This is because of the increased humidity in the fridge and the condensation that occurs with sharp temperature changes. Coffee absorbs both water and odours so storing it in a fridge will severely impact the flavour and freshness.
To keep your beans (or ground coffee) fresher for longer, store them in an opaque airtight container (remove as much air as possible if you can). Our 250g bags are resealable and have a one-way valve so you can keep your coffee fresh – just expel as much air as possible and zip back up! Then store in a cool dark place like a pantry.
Wherever possible we recommend that you purchase whole bean coffee. Investing in a grinder so that you can grind fresh will have one of the greatest positive effects on the quality of your brew. If that is not an option, then buy smaller bags more frequently in order to maximise freshness.
Our 250g bags have a one-way value that allows CO₂ to escape while keeping the oxygen out and will keep your coffee fresh until opened. This means that you can subscribe to 3x250g bags to get FREE delivery while knowing that the 3rd bag will be as good as the first!
Coffee roast level affects taste: light roasts are bright and floral, medium roasts balanced and sweet, while dark roasts are bold and smoky. We like to allow our speciality African coffees to sing, and to bring out the best of their bright, floral flavours requires a lighter touch. The goal is not to change the bean but to preserve its character. Lighter roasts have bright, crisp, and often complex flavour profiles. These are ideal for pour over brew methods.
Medium roast levels allow the bean’s innate character to mix with the rich, comforting flavours developed during roasting. The sharp acidity you find in lighter profiles mellows out into a smooth, rounded sweetness. The delicate fruit and floral notes evolve into something deeper and more familiar— think toasted nuts, creamy milk chocolate, and rich caramel.
When refining our roast recipe for each individual lot, we cup multiple times until we are happy that we have coaxed the best performance out of the bean. We are strong champions of the pour over method and think that all of our coffees are at their very best when brewed this way.
African Coffee has very complex flavour notes that are affected by the variety of bean, the terroir and the processing techniques. We go into depth about this in the articles below:
Stale coffee typically smells weak, musty, or dull rather than fragrant. When brewed, it tastes flat, cardboard-like, or sour, often lacking acidity. Physically, old beans may appear faded, dry, or have an oil-streaked, rancid surface, while ground coffee feels grainy instead of slightly oily or sticky.
If you use a pour over or French press, you might notice that the ‘bloom’ has gone. The ‘bloom’ is the release of CO₂ gases which occurs when the coffee is fresh. Stale coffee won’t produce this reaction so if you notice a change, it is time for a restock!
Make sure you store your coffees correctly to maintain their freshness for longer.
If you are unsure as to whether you will like the coffee please study the tasting notes as they will give you a clear idea of what to expect. Why not get a Tasting Adventure Pack which allows you to explore samples of three different coffees before you purchase a larger quantity?
Refunds will not be issued for personal taste issues. Please see our refunds and exchanges policy for more details.
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Joe Kendall –
Got great results from the Burundi via v60 and the Ethiopian via home espresso. Super tasty beans. Thanks. (google)
Cupper’s Journey –
Hi Joe, thanks for taking the time to leave a review, we really appreciate your feedback. The Ethiopian is a favourite of ours 🙂
Arthur Wilson –
Came across this company , which is local to me, via an advert in a local magazine. We have had coffee subscriptions before but none that have compared to the variety offered by Cupper’s Journey, some very unusual producers, coffee from Burundi from a supermarket anyone?? My wife and I have nearly finished this pack, lovely and mellow, which is different to our usual strong coffee. Zambia and Uganda next! (Trustpilot)
Cupper’s Journey –
Hi Arthur. What a great Christmas present! So pleased that you have enjoyed the Burundi, it’s literally a “hidden gem” of a coffee. Thanks for sharing and fingers crossed the Zambia and Uganda hit the high spot too!