Ninga - Filter Coffee from Burundi

How we prepare the coffee

We use the following equipment for recipe development:

Water: Total hardness 3 °dH , Alkalinity 1.5 °dH (more about coffee water)
Grinder: Kinu M47 Classic
Dripper: Hario V60 Glass Filter 02
Filter paper: Hario V60 Paper

Why does the coffee taste the way it does?

This coffee comes from the Ninga Washing Station in Butanyerera, Burundi, at 1,900 meters above sea level. Some farms are even up to 2,100 meters - thus at the upper limit of what is possible in Burundi. The national average is around 1,700 meters. At this altitude and on steep slopes, the cherries ripen slower, the beans become denser, and the flavor profile more complex.

The cherries are de-pulped on the day of harvest. This is followed by a double fermentation: first dry for about 12 hours, then another 24 hours in water. After that, they are washed and dried on drying beds for 16 to 20 days.

Why did we buy this coffee?

Ninga is truly remote - even Coca-Cola glass bottles, which make it to almost every corner of the world, barely find their way there. Clean drinking water is scarce, and electricity is almost non-existent. Coffee trees grow densely wherever they can find space. Whether on the edges of narrow dirt roads or in front of the doors of mud-built huts. It is precisely in this seclusion that Ninga Hill has been producing clean, complex coffees since its first season.

We purchased the coffee through Osito, an importer who focuses on fair, long-term supply chains and not only picks out microlots but supports the producers as a whole. That fits with what we are looking for.

How do we roast this coffee?

As a 12.5kg batch on our 30kg Giesen roaster. We finish roasting the coffee in 8:40 minutes at a final temperature of 186.5°. The development time is a tad longer to emphasize the sweetness in the coffee even more.