Masha Washing Station sits in the commune of Gatara in northern Burundi’s Kayanza Province at roughly 1,672 masl. It serves a large community of more than 2,500 smallholder farmers, many of whom cultivate only a few hundred trees on plots averaging around 0.11 hectares. The station’s name comes from the Kirundi word amasho (“herds of cattle”), reflecting the area’s pastoral history and a micro-ecosystem shaped by long-term human and environmental interaction. The combination of high elevation, biodiversity, and dispersed smallholder production supports slower cherry maturation, denser seeds, and the potential for traceable community lots rather than estate-scale production.
Red Bourbon and other local Bourbon-type cultivars are predominant, grown on very small farms that often rely on older tree stock and careful management. Masha, established in 1989, brings decades of operational experience and consistent post-harvest practices. Its washed process typically involves pulping, dry fermentation for around 12–18 hours (typical for Burundian washed coffees), washing, soaking, and sun-drying on raised beds, while additional processing styles — honey, natural, and anaerobic — show the station’s growing experimentation. Altogether, this creates a sourcing environment where quality systems are reliable, producer involvement is intimate, and the origin story can be communicated with clarity and authenticity.
Most of Burundi's coffee is produced in the highlands of Kayanza. Located in northern Burundi along the border of Rwanda, small producers typically harvest and take cherries to community delivery sites that are all processed together at wet mills. This beautiful washed coffee from the Masha Washing station has notes of ripe plum and blackberry with sweetness of brown sugar to round off a delicious and balanced cup.
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