We're upping our DECAF game with something seasonal and special from the Swiss Water® decaffeination folk. Their 'Small Batch Series' is a program of limited offerings that features hyper seasonal, highly traceable, and really tasty coffees.

“If you want to develop Burundi, you develop the women”

Angèle Ciza

In 2012, Angèle Ciza decided to go into the coffee business with a friend. Together they purchased a number of washing stations, hoping to work in closer partnership with growers as a means to begin processing some of the best coffees in the country. Today it’s clear that Ciza (now the sole proprietor) has succeed in her goal, and her company, Kalico (short for Kahawa Link Company), is synonymous with specialty coffee in Burundi.

With a heavy emphasis on education and outreach on topics such as plant nurseries to picking, the quality of the coffees produced with Kalico’s partnership has improved—along with the prices paid to farmers. Ciza has continued to invest in training, environmental protection, micro-finance, and other social infrastructures such as a scholarship program to pay for school fees for young girls.

This coffee, named Rotheca Project, is a partnership between Kalico, Phyllis Johnson of BD Imports, and RGC importers, and was organized to combat poverty and support women-produced coffee in Burundi. It not only represents the quality Burundi has to offer, but also illustrates the leadership and perseverance of Ciza, whose work has uplifted thousands of farmers and continues to be a source of inspiration, especially for women—who own or manage almost 80% of Burundi’s farms.

This lot comes from the Butihinda Washing Station, which uses water sourced from Rushombo Mountain and manages processing for approximately 1400 smallholder producers.

This coffee was processed using a 14 hour fermentation and is made up of Red Bourbon coffee grown at 1,500–1,800 meters above sea level. 

This is a clean and elegant coffee which has all the attributes of a good washed Burundi coffee.. just without the caffeine.

A little about Red Bourbon

A more productive variety than its parent Typica, the Bourbon variety is part of the reason Brazil became one of the world's coffee super-producers in the 1860s, when it was introduced to make up for the supply loss caused by a leaf-rust outbreak in Java. Slightly sweeter with a sort of caramel quality, Bourbon coffees also have a nice, crisp acidity, but can present different flavours depending on where they're planted. El Salvador Bourbons are all butter, toffee, and fresh pastry; Rwandan types tend to have a punchier fruit quality. Bourbon itself has gone through multiple mutations and variations since its spread: Subvarieties include plants whose cherry ripens to red, yellow, or orange; a dwarf mutation called Caturra; and an El Salvadorian type called Pacas, among many others.

Burundi Rotheca Decaf

Artisan coffee roaster based in Exeter, Devon. Small batches roasted to order using only ethically sourced speciality grade coffee which changes frequently with the seasons and selected because of it's flavour characteristics. Some coffee might be fair-trade, some might be organic, some RFA but these are not primarly purchasing criteria. It's all about the taste!

Burundi Rotheca Decaf

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Burundi Rotheca Decaf

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