Nemba Oro Natural, Burundi

Farrer’s not only have a long coffee heritage, but their small, dedicated team have the drive and vision to bring you the very best ethically and sustainably sourced coffees from around the globe.

The latest coffee Farrer’s is introducing to their range is Nemba Oro Natural, an intense, juicy, sweet and wine forward coffee with lots of fruit flavour, including, raspberry, cherry, passionfruit, and hints of chocolate, pepper, rose and elderflower.

Nemba station lies in the northern province of Kayanza. Around 3,000+ producers work with the Nemba washing station, most are smallholders who own an average of 150 coffee trees. The farms delivering cherry to Nemba are all located at around 1,700m above sea level, near the Kibila forest.

(Image by @augustine_2010 on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/jP906cm5lvo)

During the harvest season, all coffee is selectively handpicked. Cherry is then placed in Epoxy-coated concrete fermentation tanks. Oro yeast purchased from the French company Lalcafe is added to each of the tanks, and then left to ferment for 48 hours for Lot 1 and 80 hours for Lot 2.

LALCAFÉ ORO™ yeast controls the fermentation process and helps prevent spoilage by micro-organisms. The longer fermentation time for yeast processed coffees (washed processed typically ferments for about 12 hours) also allows more developed flavours to come to the fore. The complexity, acidity, brightness, and floral notes are all boosted by the longer fermentation time.

After fermentation is completed, coffee is run through washing and grading canals, separating beans into seven grades according to density. After washing, this parchment is poured onto wooden trays or nylon bags. The beans are then transported to the drying tables where they will dry slowly for 2-3 weeks, during which time the parchment is repeatedly sorted and sifted to ensure even drying.

If the weather conditions are good, the parchment takes on average 10 to 14 days to dry. Once dry, the parchment coffee is then bagged and taken to the warehouse.

The unique fermentation process used by the Nemba Station has created a subtle coffee with notes of pink grapefruit and blood orange in the aroma. A very juicy body together with a honeyed citric acidity and with hints of maple syrup and black pepper on the finish.

Farm: Cooperative Farm
Country: Burundi
Region: Nemba, Kayanza
Varietal: Red Bourbon
Process: Yeast Inoculated Dry Natural
Profile: Notes of bright citrus, ripe red berries, dark chocolate sweetness and passionfruit.
Cup Score: 87