Burundi

Nestled deep within the heart of the small coffee producing country of Burundi, on the border of Kayanza Province, is the village of Bukeye.  Just beyond this village, down a tree lined dirt road, lies the backbone of Long Miles Coffee Project; the Bukeye washing station. Bukeye is the first washing station built by Ben and Kristy Carlson, an American family who see the potential of Burundi coffee and its farmers.

The Long Miles Coffee Project founders, Ben and Kristy Carlson, moved to Burundi in 2011 and saw that both injustice and poor farming practices permeated the country’s newly privatized coffee industry. They also saw that roasters around the world had a difficult time getting consistently great coffees from Burundi. In an effort to see positive change in both farmers’ and roasters’ lives, Long Miles Coffee was born.

Through creating the Bukeye, Heza, and Ninga washing stations, they have gone from working with just 50 families in 2011, to over 5,500 coffee farming families, on eleven different hills. Microlots from these washing stations have consistently placed top 10 in the Cup of Excellence, and Long Miles now holds their very own Cup of Excellence “Private Collection” bid.

During the peak of harvest, farmers bring their cherries to the station and each person’s contribution is recorded using the Long Miles farmer card system. This system ensures that Long Miles can trace the best quality coffee and the farmers who grow it right down to hill-level.