Crown Jewel Burundi Ngozi Turihamwe Turashobora Raised Bed Washed CJ1520 – 30045 – SPOT RCWHSE

Position Spot

Boxes 0

Warehouses Oakland

Flavor Profile orange, caramel, chocolate, lime, thai tea, grapefruit, peach, green apple, plum, marshmallow

Out of stock

Overview 

This is a traditional washed coffee from Ngozi, Burundi produced by the independently organized and women-led Turihamwe Turashobora farmer group and washing station, in association with JNP Coffee. 

The flavor profile is distinctive, with strong citrus impressions like orange, grapefruit, and bergamot oil, caramelly sweetness, and a warm sweet spice to the finish. 

Our roasters caution to use less than expected heat energy with this coffee, as the lower density beans respond quickly during color change and first crack. 

When brewed as both pour-over and espresso, our team found the coffee favored lower doses, coarser grinds and longer brew times. 

Taste Analysis by Chris Kornman 

Turihamwe Turashobora, you had me at distinctive and chuggable. This refined little jewel from Ngozi’s preeminent women-led producer group has an unmistakably evocative sense of its source, from the hands that pick the fruit and process it to the hills, iconic of the region in which it is grown. It reminds me a lot of my first experiences in the country, clustered around tables full of coffees echoing the favored “chocolate” and “orange” and “tea-like” notes, searching for one or two in each set that might warrant the pedestal in an international quality competition. 

I told Jeanine not long ago that this lot rivaled those top lots, in part because of how precisely representative it is of the flavors I’ve come to associate specifically with the province of Ngozi. 

What’s immediately apparent at first sip, and often in the fragrance before, is the citrus presence. Many of our tasters gravitated towards the idea of a ripened navel orange. Brewed as a pourover we noticed hints of bergamot, a nod to the essential oils and highly fragrant citrus flavors that evoke another common association – Earl Grey tea. 

The cup evokes gentler tones, as well. Fragile fruited notes of peach and mango and whispers of blackberry pair delicately with browned sugar note of caramel and chocolate, alluding to the creamy nature of its mouthfeel. There’s also a spice note accompanying the citrus oils, likened to anise, licorice, or even pink peppercorn. 

Underneath all this latent complexity is a simple truth: the cup is hard to put down. With all the stories that could (and have) been told of its source, its processes, and its flavors, the final sentence is almost always this: it’s a damn fine coffee. 

Source Analysis by Chris Kornman with Charlie Habegger 

Turihamwe is a name that should prick up your ears if you’re familiar with JNP Coffee and its founder Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian. 

The story starts with a spark, first held by Jeanine, who was born in Burundi’s capital city of Bujumbura to a family with a coffee growing legacy. Her path back to her birth-country, after earning an MBA from Northwestern University’s prestigious Kellogg School and enjoying a successful career in international business, would be through a not-for-profit organization she founded called Burundi Friends International (BFI), a not-for-profit funding educational and economic empowerment programs for rural Burundians, which is now in its 13th year. From the board of BFI and after attending a Cup of Excellence competition, Jeanine realized she could be a part of coffee promotion, and JNP Coffee was born, and the spark became a flame. 

One of JNP’s core principles, the ember at the center of its fire, is that of gender-sensitive sourcing and women’s empowerment, and among the company’s earliest strategic partners was the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA), of which JNP is a founding member in the country. 

And so the flame spread. Turihamwe is the next chapter in the story that is the legacy of Jeanine, JNP, and IWCA. In full, this group of producers represent themselves as Turihamwe Turashobora in Kirundi, which translates to “Together We Can!’’ After a gestation period as members of the IWCA Burundi chapter, this farmer-and-women-led-organization pooled the premiums earned through IWCA and JNP’s “Dushime” payment program and built their own wet mill in 2018 to maintain quality and better capture and represent the value of the coffee grown in their community. 

JNP Coffee’s partnership with Turihamwe is deep, from the personal ties (Jeanine’s mother was born to a coffee farming family in the same province), to shared principles of gender equity, quality, and transparency. In a bold move, JNP not only supports the farmers of the group through the Dushime payment program, but also commits to purchase the full harvest and carry financial risk for the facility’s entire outturn and has done so since its inception. 

The wet mill and quality team is entirely women-led and works closely with JNP’s trained Q Graders on best quality practices and lot curation. In addition to an efficient water treatment system for the processing station, JNP Coffee is also looking to invest in Rainforest Alliance certification (RFA) for this group. 

Fully washed processing for members of the Turihamwe Turashobora group is as detailed as anywhere in Burundi where the best coffees are produced. Cherry is floated for density and visible defects prior to mechanical depulping and demucilaginating. Thanks to the mechanical mucilage removal fermentation is quick, lasting only overnight, after which the wet parchment is sorted by density under water in concrete tanks, and then soaked again once complete. Drying takes place at first under shade, and then in open air with the parchment piled into pyramids, which are flattened and re-shaped each day as a form of incremental air exposure to slowly and evenly dry the coffee and lock in the final moisture. The resulting profile is exceedingly clean, bright and delicate. 

Green Analysis by Chris Kornman 

The added processing step of demucilaginating, in addition to standard depulping, gives this coffee a bit of an advantage when it comes to processing timeframe, reducing the available fruit for fermentation and thereby the time in the tanks. Another unique additional step, one I’ve seen employed exclusively in Burundi, is the “pyramid” style parchment drying technique. Each of these steps has an impact on both green quality and flavor. 

In terms of physical specs, the coffee presents very average looking moisture and water activity figures — good news for storage situations of all kinds. It’s also sorted somewhat widely, generally in the 15+ range we frequently see in the region’s specialty exports, if a bit looser than some other areas of the world. The most unique metric here is the especially low density, an oddity for country known for great elevation and smaller than average seed size. Expect less resistance to heat early in roasting for this coffee. 

Local cultivars are largely traditional and legacy plants handed down generationally since the 1930s and 40s. Widely assumed to be predominately French Mission (Bourbon) variants, World Coffee Research has uncovered deeper histories into the two most common local iterations grown in Burundi and nearby Rwanda. Jackson (a Bourbon type plant) is the surname of coffee farmer in India who identified the tree as rust-resistant; seedlings were then sent to other British occupied coffee growing regions in Kenya and Tanzania. Mbrizi (a Typica type) is thought to have been introduced from Guatemala to Rwanda. Neither tree is considered disease resistant, but both tend to produce excellent cup quality despite relatively low yields. 

 

Diedrich IR-5 Analysis by Doris Garrido. 

This month we are analyzing two coffees from Burundi, and I got to roast them the same day; this Burundi washed was the first in line. And as happened in the previous roast analysis, I ran the Sinar with the wrong setting. My density, and moisture reading were wrong, and I started the roast thinking there was more moisture to push. My first gas movements were based on that, and I ended up having a roast shorter than I expected, 8:35 total roast time. I charged at 426F with 30% gas, 0% air and began adding gas power every 30 seconds, lowering back to 30% just after the color change. I used 50% air in the middle of Maillard and just a few seconds later 100%. The first crack started at 386.7F and finished at 1:16 of post-crack development.  

I believe I have learned my lesson while tasting the first shots from Isabella Vitaliano as she was dialing for espresso. The acidity hit me hard in the face on the first try and I thought that I could fix that by stretching Maillard a little longer bringing the sugars a little more. Soon I realized that I roasted this coffee faster than I wanted since I ran the Sinar incorrectly. In the end Isabella got a perfectly balanced shot that gave me a perspective of the capacity of this coffee – to read more please check her brew analysis. Previously when we cupped this coffee a day after roasting, the most frequent notes were clean citric acid, plum, tangy, green apple, guava, and orange peel. I was not surprised that the coffee was bright at the beginning of the dialing for the espresso, but there was also some brown sugar, browned butter, and cinnamon I would say that with a twist on the roast, stretching Maillard can improve the complexity of this coffee.  

 

Aillio Bullet R1 IBTS Analysis by Evan Gilman 

Unless otherwise noted, we use both the roast.world site and Artisan software to document our roasts on the Bullet. You can find our roast documentation below, by searching on roast.world, or by clicking on the Artisan links below.  

Generally, we have good results starting our 500g roasts with 428F preheating, P6 power, F2 fan, and d6 drum speed. Take a look at our roast profiles below, as they are constantly changing! 

Another delicious Burundi coffee graced the queue for Crown Jewels this week from the inimitable JNP and producers at Turihamwe Turashobora. This fully washed coffee promised to be easy to work with, and I’m happy to say that after many, many tasty cups there was nary a nightshade.  

This coffee had a couple of counteracting forces providing varying levels of resistance to the roast. Lower density meant that I would need to treat this coffee gently, while a slightly wider screen size would mean that solid and even heating was required.  

I started with 455F heat, P8 power, and F2 fan to give a hearty push until RoR began to decline from its peak of 33F/min. At the peak, I increased fan speed to F3, and a minute later reduced power to P7. Then something slightly strange happened after Yellowing. My RoR began to spike much earlier than anticipated, so I reacted by reducing power to P6 and increasing fan to F4. This did have the desired effect of tempering the rate of rise, but only for a bit, as it climbed inexorably towards First Crack, where I decreased power to P5 and increased fan to F5, pretty much guaranteeing a crash. But crash it did not! Slowly working its way through Post-Crack Development, I got 1:41 development time and dropped the coffee at 395F / 9:50. 

While this roast wasn’t exactly what I’d hoped for with the spike late in the roast cycle, the flavors came through nicely in the cup. Bright lemongrass and grapefruit came through up front, with a touch of cherry sweetness, and a presiding caramel note over the entire ensemble.  

This is a thoroughly enjoyable and quaffable cup no matter how you look at it, but I would suggest a lighter approach with the roast here. Make sure to take it easy after yellowing, and keep an eye out for that early spike, perhaps due to the lower density of this coffee. With a tempered and even approach, you’re going to get an incredible cup! 

You can follow along with my roast here at roast.world: https://roast.world/@egilman/roasts/4J62GsQw1SfQzNVJ5p7_D

Ikawa Pro V3 Analysis by Isabella Vitaliano 

Our current Ikawa practice compares two sample roast profiles, originally designed for different densities of green coffee. The two roasts differ slightly in total length, charge temperature, and time spent between color change in first crack. You can learn more about the profiles here. 

This washed Burundi arrived at Oakland through the exporter group, JNP coffee. This is the second coffee from JNP to join our Crown Jewel lineup this season and is sure to be a crowd pleaser in any setting. I’ve had zero experience with Burundi coffees before working at The Crown and the quality this small but diverse country has to offer has been so fun to explore. Thank you to Doris, who helped with the analysis of these roast profiles.  

Hot and fast, this high-density (HD) profile brought out a lot of character from the coffee, with notes of green apple, guava skin sprinkled with orange zest, and tangerine. When hot, I got some notes of pine and eucalyptus; that sort of minty fresh feeling that was super interesting. As it cooled off these pine-like flavors dissipated to a very fruit forward body.  

While the body of the HD roast was enjoyable the low-density (LD) roast offered a cleaner and softer cup that kept Doris and I going back for more. The body was a little lower but with notes of soft orange, stone fruit, tea, brown sugar, and some preserved lemon woven in there. As it cooled the fruit acids really opened up to a clean and elegant brew. Doris and I thought the HD roast had a lot of personality but preferred the softer and cleaner profile that the LD roast brought to the table. 

 

You can roast your own by linking to our profiles in the Ikawa Pro app here: 

Roast 1: Low Density Sample Roast 

Roast 2: High Density Sample Roast   

Brew Analysis by Joshua Wismans 

Burundi coffee is a bit of a shapeshifter.  At times its profile resembles that of the more prominent coffee growing regions to the East. Sometimes it tastes like it came from the other side of the world. Some of the most distinctive Burundis, however, are being produced with the helping hand of JNP coffees, which is helping farmer groups throughout the country refine their process and build a reputation for what makes Burundi coffees distinctive. This is one of those coffees. Beautiful citrus and floral notes are married with a soft roundness and sweetness, creating a cup that’s as distinct as it is chuggable.

To find our brewing profile for this coffee, we started with a fine grind and a low dose, brewed on the Beehouse brewer. Using an 8.5 grind on our EK43s, we used a ratio of 1:16.67 coffee to water. While this gave us an appropriate TDS of 1.47%, the extraction percentage was a bit on the high end. We got some notes of apple, caramel, and marshmallow tea, but the acidity felt a bit muted and there was an herbal note we hoped to clean up. 

For our next two brews, we experimented with raising the dose and coarsening the grind. This gave us a similar TDS, but ultimately found the higher dose came with a bit of a tobacco note that, while not unpleasant, wasn’t what we were hoping for.  

The brew we ultimately settled on returned to the coffee to water ration of 1:16.67 and retained the coarse grind of the previous brews. We also switched to the Hario V60, with the expectation that the conical shape may help us clean the profile up. This gave us a TDS of 1.35% and a profile that we were really excited about. Chocolate and toffee sweetness was accented by blood orange and bergamot.

For this coffee we recommend a lower dose, a coarser grind, and using a conical brewer such as the V60.  Enjoy our first beautiful washed Burundi of the year.  

Espresso Analysis by Isabella Vitaliano  

Our newest Crown Jewel comes from JNP coffee, the well-established and watchful hand that curates specialty coffee from Burundi. Royal is lucky enough to have sourced this washed coffee this harvest and we are excited to share it with the world! I had a tumultuous time dialing in this coffee although it was no fault other than my own as my palate was a little off on this particular day.  

Recipe 1: 19g in 38 out 37 seconds  

With the coffee coming up on two weeks off I started with a higher dose and a standard 1:2 ratio. This shot was nice with some cranberry, preserved lemon that had a little bit of smokiness on the finish. While I liked this shot, I knew it could be better. My goal was to get it a little brighter and sweeter without the smoky note.  

Recipe 2: 18.5g in 37g out 33 seconds  

I played with a lower dose for a little bit at 18g, but the acidity was something I struggled to balance out until I bumped it up to 18.5g. This coffee really clicked at this recipe with a ripe dark cherry body, layers of almond butter, marzipan and highlights of orange zest and rhubarb to round it all out. I was curious to see how it tasted with milk and a single shot macchiato bumped up the orange sweetness. Despite cupping all morning and dialing in this espresso I finished it, as it was that good. This washed Burundi is sure to be a heavy hitter on any bar with all the elements of an espresso that keeps things interesting and remaining a crowd pleaser.