Burundi has only been producing coffee since the 1930s. It is a country shattered both by civil conflict and the widespread perception of the potato defect in specialty coffee. In the 1930s, coffee came to Burundi during colonial rule and has been hot-potatoeing from being publicly owned in 1933, private in 1962 after independence, public again in 1972, and finally private from 1991.

Concurrent with these swings is the civil conflict that has also been detrimental to Burundi’s coffee production and value.

There are significant barriers in producing specialty coffee in Burundi, including geographic location, bureaucracy and the widespread perception of the potato defect.

Burundi is a land locked country located within East Africa (borders Rwanda to the North, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west). This is challenging because it is hard to maintain the coffee quality when transporting coffee from processing stations to buyers.

The potato defect (alongside Rwanda) is also present in Burundi. In essence, this is where; the Antestia bug infects coffee berries by drilling a small hole into the skin of the coffee of the coffee fruit. So that when the coffee is roasted, beans taste like a raw potato. This has the potential to ruin an entire bag of coffee, and as such has the effect of deterring buyers from buying Burundi coffee.

As a note, Burundi officially and unofficially has one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world, with 90% of the population relying on subsistence and agriculture. This seems outstanding but as Ben and Kristy Carlson (founders of the Long Mile Coffee Project) both note, “choosing to only view it with that perspective ignores the incredible potential latent in its hills given the fertility of Burundian soil and the unique micro-climates of each colline (hill).”

 

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