Ninga

Burundi — Long Miles Coffee Project, Ninga Washing Station — Bourbon Field Blend (Washed)

Tastes Like — 🍑 Apricot • 🍂 Persimmon • 🍋 Lemon Meringue • 🫖 Red Marmalade

DETAILS

• Producer: Long Miles Coffee Project
• Washing Station: Ninga
• Region: Muramvya, Burundi
• Varietal: Bourbon Field Blend
• Process: Washed
• Altitude: 1,800–2,000 MASL
• Harvest: June 2025
• Size: 250g

INTRO

Ninga Hill has produced a bright and characterful lot this season. This year's offering from the Long Miles Coffee Project is a standout among a very strong field from Muramvya. Upfront the viscosity is like red tea with a marmalade tartness about it — then the cup evolves tremendously from hot and sweet into cool and sharp.

Beyond the headline apricot and persimmon notes, the cup reveals lemon meringue, baking spice and toffee as it develops. A unique and delicious profile with genuine complexity throughout the temperature range.

THE PRODUCER

Long Miles Coffee Project has been a cornerstone sourcing partner for Flower Child, bringing the potential of Burundian coffee farmers to the world stage. Coffee is central to the Burundian economy, and the Long Miles team has spent years building infrastructure, navigating red tape and raising the ceiling of compensation for specialty work at washing stations like Ninga.

Ninga Washing Station has its own borehole water source — a critical asset for the integrity of the washed process. The station serves smallholder farmers across the Muramvya region, which sits at 1,800–2,000 MASL and produces some of the most vibrant and complex Bourbon-based coffees in East Africa.

The years of persistence, determination and logistical tenacity from the Long Miles team have been transformative for the producers they work with. Flower Child has been privileged to observe this project develop over several seasons, and the 2025 Ninga harvest is perhaps the most compelling result yet.

THE PROCESS

The Washed process at Ninga Washing Station involves:

• 🍒 Selective Harvest — freshly harvested cherries are delivered by farmers to the washing station
• ✅ Floating & Hand Sorting — cherries are floated and hand-sorted for ripeness upon arrival
• 🔧 Pulping — cherries are mechanically de-pulped
• 🧪 Dry Fermentation — parchment undergoes around 12 hours of dry fermentation
• 👁️ Footing — parchment is sometimes footed after fermentation to aid separation
• 💧 Washing — parchment is washed in the station's borehole water
• ☀️ Raised Bed Drying — dried on raised beds to the appropriate moisture target

The single fermentation and careful drying at Ninga preserve the bright acidity and layered complexity that define the best Burundian coffees.

THE CUP

A thoroughly engaging cup that rewards patience. At temperature the Ninga is sweet and syrupy with apricot and persimmon leading; as it cools the tartness sharpens and a lemon meringue brightness emerges, with baking spice and toffee rounding out the base.

Flavour Notes

• 🍑 Apricot
• 🍂 Persimmon
• 🍋 Lemon Meringue
• 🫖 Red Marmalade