Gitwe

ELECTRIFY YOUR PALATE WITH THIS COFFEE FROM BURUNDI

Gitwe represents the work of 2,000 farmers who produce coffee on Gitwe Hill next to the Heza Washing Station in the Kayanza Province of Northern Burundi. Not only does Gitwe Hill represent a community hub, vibrating with energy of locals transporting baskets of freshly harvested produce; the hill also produces all sorts of essential crops.   

Along the cool, remote slopes of the hill, rows of coffee trees grow. Amongst the coffee trees, you’ll find crops such as onions, sweet potatoes, maize, bananas, cassava, beans, and cabbage thriving in the fertile soil, shaded by rows of fig trees. The terroir, ideal growing conditions, and meticulous care that goes into producing Gitwe results in a stunning final cup, with notes of red grape, lemon verbena, and brown sugar.

This Bourbon is from the Heza Washing Station and was grown above 2000 masl on Gitwe Hill, where more than 1500 families are part of the Long Miles Coffee Project. In April of this year, a devastating landslide destroyed parts of the Heza Washing Station, part of Gitwe farm, as well as damaging hundreds of homes in the area. Madcap contributed a donation to fund the rebuilding of the washing station and homes around Heza Washing Station. 

The Heza washing station, along with another station, were built by the Carlson family as part of their Long Miles Coffee Project, an effort to improve quality through intensified sorting throughout the milling process, facilitate direct connections between farmers and roasters, and improve the livelihood of local coffee farmers. In addition to several quality sorts, coffee is also sorted by the distinct hill on which it is grown.