

The technology
Steeped bags are a simple and elegant way to present a selection of the coffees we find most exciting, removing many brewing variables, and allowing quality and character to shine. Individual doses are ground and sealed in nitrogen-flushed packages, maintaining the clear aromatic character of freshly ground coffee, for over a year after roasting. Just add filtered water to enjoy one of our picks of the season.
The Long Miles Coffee Project
The Long Miles Project, founded by Ben and Kristy Carlson, began work in 2013, aiming to raise the bar of specialty coffees coming out of Burundi. The project works with more than 5,000 individual coffee farmers living near three central washing stations, Bukeye, opened in 2013, Heza, from 2014 and Ninga, which had its first harvest in 2020.
There are several reasons why producing speciality coffee in Burundi is an incredibly difficult task. There’s the incredibly unstable political situation, where government can change rules on coffee prices and value chain seemingly overnight, the practical challenge of being a small landlocked country attempting to export coffee by sea freight, the constant threat of unrest. But through it all the Carlson family have managed to establish themselves as producers and exporters of consistently delicious coffees, all the while providing some semblance of stability to the lives of smallholder farmers that surround their washing stations in the northern Kayanza Province, near the border with Rwanda.
This lot is one example, a washed lot that combines the output of the hills served by the Heza station. It is produced using the same exacting fermentation, washing, drying and sorting protocols, but doesn’t offer the same ‘terroir’ of a specific hill or snapshot in time.
As such, Umutumba is a great example of the archetypal washed Burundi profile, with delicate black tea balanced by dried fruit sweetness in the cup, reminiscent of raisin and apricot.