Location and Landscape

• Situated in Gatara Commune, Kayanza Province, Burundi
• Elevation: 1,695 meters above sea level
• Many surrounding farms have coffee plantations at even higher elevations

Historical and Botanical Context

• Coffee Cultivar: Mostly older Bourbon varieties
• Introduction: Brought by Catholic monks from Reunion in the 1930s
• Name Origin: "Gakenke" refers to a local plant with thin, hollow stems used for drinking traditional banana beer

Processing Facilities

• Drying Capacity: 149 long drying beds
• Processing Types:
  • Washed
  • Honey
  • Dry process

Farmer and Production Details

• Local Farmers: 1,900 farmers from 22 neighboring villages
• Collection Process:
  • Auxiliary collection sites managed by local "collectors"
  • Collectors pre-grade coffee by separating unripe cherries
  • Ensures higher quality before delivery to the mill

Significance

The Gakenke coffee station represents a microcosm of Burundi's rich coffee culture, combining traditional cultivation methods with careful processing to produce high-quality coffee.

• Filtered water.  Spring water is ideal.  Removing chloride, sulfur, and iron is essential.
• A burr grinder.  The more even the coffee particles, the better the coffee.  Burr grinders, whether manual or electric, will do a better job than "whirly-blade" grinders.  Invest in a burr grinder.  Your taste buds (and coffee roaster) will thank you.
• A scale.  I know using a scale can seem a bit like you're doing something you shouldn't be.  Trust me, you can only brew consistently great coffee with a scale.  Water and coffee are hard to measure without one.
• Clean equipment.  Properly cleaning your equipment is the only way to avoid stale and rancid coffee flavors entering your cup.  Please keep your equipment clean.  The sooner and more often you clean your gear, the easier it will be in the long run.  Add it to your ritual and thank us later.
• Delicious and freshly roasted Color Coffee

A weak brew could the result of a couple things.  First of all, you want to make sure you're using the proper amount of water and coffee.  If you use too much water or not enough coffee, you won't be able to get the strength you need.  A digital scale will ensure you can get the measurements right.  Start with 1 gram of coffee to 16 grams of water and adjust to taste!

The second problem could be a grind size that is too course.  If the coffee bits are too big, you won't be able to pull enough flavor out and the brew will taste weak.  In general for drip coffee, the grind size should be the size of beach sand.  You can also use the brew time to help judge if you're grind is correct.  Most brewing methods should take between 3 and 5 minutes.  If it's going faster than this, it's likely your grind size isn't fine enough.  Grind finer and taste it!