Butegana Intenso Yeast FW IMPACT Beyond Flagship

Purchases of this IMPACT-verified coffee from Butegana contribute toward an IMPACT Beyond Flagship project that establishes livestock solidarity chains that make livestock accessible for coffee farming families. As part of our Beyond Flagship program line-up, this initiative supports improved income, access to microcredit, women's business development and inputs for organic agriculture as just a few of its components, thus contributing towards our IMPACT living income goal. 
 
Butegana has a long history in Burundi coffee. Built in 1952, it is believed to be the country’s first coffee washing station. Its name means “to be trapped”, a reference to Rwandan soldiers who were once trapped in the valley by the Burundian army. 

During the rule of King Mwambutsa, Prince Baranyanka had the station constructed to make use of the abundant coffee growing in the surrounding area. The station straddles two hills: its buildings sit on Shikankoni, while its drying tables stretch across neighbouring Nkuba. 

More than 70 years later, Butegana may be Burundi’s oldest washing station, but it is still pushing the boundaries of processing. This Yeast Inoculated Fully Washed lot brings controlled fermentation into the station’s long tradition of coffee production, using selected yeast to guide fermentation and explore new expressions of Butegana’s coffees. It is a fitting evolution for a station that has been part of Burundi coffee from the very beginning.

Most coffee trees in Burundi are Red Bourbon. Because of the increasingly small size of coffee plantings, aging rootstock is a very big issue in Burundi. Many farmers have trees that are over 50 years old, but with small plots to farm, it is difficult to justify taking trees entirely out of production for the 3-4 years it will take new plantings to begin to yield. In order to encourage farmers to renovate their plantings, Greenco purchases seeds from the Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi (ISABU), establishes nurseries and sells the seedlings to farmers at or below cost. At the washing station, farmers can also get organic fertilizer from reconverted coffee pulp.  
 
Despite the ubiquity of coffee growing in Burundi, each smallholder produces a relatively small harvest. The average smallholder has approximately 250 trees, normally in their backyards. Each tree yields an average of 1.5 kilos of cherry so the average producer sells about 200-300 kilos of cherry annually.  

Washing stations make the first payment to farmers between 15-30 June. The second payment comes later in the summer. If the coffee wins a competition or sells for extremely high specialty prices, Greenco gives another payment approximately a year after the harvest season.    

This coffee is IMPACT verified, ensuring that agricultural practices give priority to environmental protection and support of biodiversity.   

During the harvest season, all coffee is selectively hand-picked. Most families only have 200 to 250 trees, and harvesting is done almost entirely by the family. Greenco knows that even small distances can be time consuming and expensive to travel for smallholder farmers, and they know that receiving cherry immediately after harvest is crucial to quality.  Therefore, smallholders can bring their cherries either directly to a washing station or to one of the 10-15 collection sites situated throughout growing areas. Farmers are paid the same for their quality cherry regardless of where they bring their cherries. In this way, farmers are not disadvantaged due to their location, and Greenco bears the cost of transport to washing stations. 
 
Only the best and ripest cherries are selected for this lot before pulping. They are then floated to remove any under-ripes or damaged cherry.  

After pulping, a yeast solution is prepared by rehydrating dried LALCAFÉ INTENSO™ yeast granules in lukewarm potable water at a ratio of 1 gram of yeast per 10 ml of water, at a temperature between 15°C and 37°C and left to dissolve for 20 to 30 minutes before use.  

The activated yeast suspension is then added to the fermentation tank at a dose of 1 gram per kilogram of pulped coffee, with fermentation taking place submerged under approximately 5 cm of water. The tank is covered and left to ferment for 48 hours at ambient temperatures between 20°C and 24°C. Throughout fermentation, pH, mass temperature, ambient temperature and relative humidity are monitored and recorded.  

After fermentation, the coffee is fully washed in clean water through grading channels and laid on raised beds to dry. While drying, cherry is repeatedly sorted and sifted to ensure even drying. Cherry is left to dry from sunrise to sunset and is covered with a sheet during the evening or when it rains. If the weather conditions are good, the cherry takes on average 10 to 14 days to dry. The moisture level is carefully monitored and any parchment with visual defects is removed.  

Washing stations make the first payment to farmers between 15 and 30 June. The second payment comes later in the summer. If the coffee wins a competition or sells for extremely high specialty prices, Greenco gives another payment approximately a year after the harvest season.  

Once dry, the parchment is bagged and taken to the warehouse. Greenco’s team of expert cuppers assess every lot (which remain separated by station, day and quality) at the lab. This level of traceability is maintained throughout the entire process. 

Before shipment, coffee is sent to Budeca, Burundi’s largest dry mill. The coffee is milled and hand sorted by a team of hand-pickers who look closely at every single bean to ensure zero defects. It takes a team of two hand-pickers a full day to look over a single bag. UV lighting is also used on the beans and any bean that glows (which is usually an indication of a defect) is removed. The mill produces an average of 300 containers of 320 bags per year. 

Budeca is located in Burundi’s new capital city, Gitega. The city has a population of around 30,000 people. Since there are approximately 3,000 people working at the mill, mostly as hand pickers, this means that Budeca employs nearly 10% of the total population in Gitega for at least half the year (during the milling season). The same is true in the provinces of Ngozi and Kayanza, where Greenco and Bugestal are the first employers in the region during the coffee harvest season. This has an incalculable impact on a country like Burundi, which has unemployment rates above 50%, especially in rural areas and among young people.

LALCAFÉ INTENSO™ yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) was specially developed for coffee production over a four-year period of research and trials. Trials in various regions and environments showed that Intenso is well suited to better control processing efficiency and to upgrade the cup quality. The yeast is able to control the fermentation process against the risk of spoilage micro-organisms that can generate undesirable defects. Furthermore, its specific metabolism and high capacity even at cold temperatures (minimum 15°C inside the coffee tank) allow for the expression of fresh and fruity characteristics of the coffee beans while respecting the unique flavors of each lot.

Greenco, a company that oversees and structures washing stations in Kayanza province of Burundi, gives washing stations and producers support all along the production chain. They started their work in 2015, and have dominated all Cup of Excellence competitions in Burundi ever since. Currently, Greenco has 13 washing stations all located in Kayanza in the north of Burundi. The producers receive support from the Greenco CWS managers, who are all agronomic engineers. Greenco’s overall impact through these 13 central washing stations (CWS) extends to over 15,210 coffee producing households. 

Greenco works with young agronomy graduates to provide farmer training and manage washing stations. Young graduates are particularly well suited for the work with Greenco because they can all work with computer systems, greatly simplifying the flow of information between the washing stations and Greenco. Also, they have a fresh and systematic approach to coffee production and processing, with up-to-date knowledge about farming practices. The agronomists received additional training from the NGO Kahawatu Foundation on best agricultural practices (BAP). Off season, they provide agronomy assistance to the roughly 15,210 farmers who deliver cherries to Greenco CWS to prepare for the next harvest. 

Another socio-economic challenge that Greenco addresses is youth unemployment. The national youth unemployment rate is almost 50%. At Greenco, young graduates receive a decent salary and benefits (house, motorbike, healthcare) as well as real career prospects. 

Next to improving quality and productivity, Greenco strives to improve socio-economic and environmental conditions around the washing stations. All of their washing stations have UTZ and 4C certification. One of their focus points is building an efficient supply chain around the CWS.  Greenco is buying 93% of its cherries directly from farmers via collection centers. This way, they improve farm-gate price to the producers. 

In addition to providing training on farming practices, Greenco organizes trainings for farmer groups about various social aspects. Coffee families learn about gender equality, financial planning, family planning and more. 

Environmental stewardship is of paramount importance to Greenco. They have equipped all washing stations with water treatment facilities and solar panels and batteries. The station has ponds to purify the wastewater from processing before flowing back in the river network. The solar panels provide energy for computers, lighting and smartphones.