Burundi — Tugwizikawa Cooperative Kigobe Washing Station Red Bourbon (Natural Swiss Water Decaf)

Tastes Like — 🍫 Milk Chocolate • 🍪 Fig Newton • 🫚 Red Date

DETAILS

• Producer: Tugwizikawa Cooperative / Kalico (Kahawa Link Company)
• Washing Station: Kigobe Washing Station
• Region: Kirundo, Burundi
• Varietal: Red Bourbon
• Process: Natural Swiss Water Process Decaf
• Altitude: 1700 MASL
• Size: 340g

INTRO

A lot of care went into this decaf, and it shows. As a medium roast, it offers a base of sweet milk chocolate, joined by the honeyed, slightly spiced character of fig newtons. As the cup cools, those jammy figs shift into dried red dates, adding a complexity not typical of most decafs. It's a decaf that feels especially comforting in the evening — rich, layered, and particularly lovely with milk on a cold day.

This coffee comes from the Kigobe Washing Station in Kirundo, which serves approximately 600 smallholder farmers from the Tugwizikawa cooperative — a name that translates beautifully as "Let's Rise Coffee." It represents the fourth season Moonwake has offered coffee from the Rotheca Project, an initiative between Kalico, Phyllis Johnson of BD Imports, and RGC importers, organised to combat poverty and support women-produced coffee in Burundi.

THE PRODUCER

In 2012, Angèle Ciza decided to go into the coffee business, purchasing a number of washing stations with the intention of working closely with growers and processing some of the finest coffees in the country. Ciza sadly passed away in 2022, but her legacy lives on through Kalico (Kahawa Link Company), now managed by her son, Alexandre Shaka Mugisha, working across seven washing stations in the region.

Through an emphasis on agricultural education, the quality of Kalico's coffees has grown steadily — along with prices paid to farmers and meaningful improvements for women in the supply chain. Kalico invests continuously in training, environmental protection, micro-finance, and social causes including a scholarship programme to cover school fees for young girls. Seventy per cent of the producers they work with are women.

This coffee not only represents the quality Burundi has to offer, but also embodies Ciza's vision, whose work has uplifted thousands of farmers and continues to inspire — especially the women whose labour is so essential to coffee production in Burundi.

THE PROCESS

The Natural Swiss Water Process at Kigobe involves:

• 🍒 Cherry Selection — Ripe Red Bourbon cherries harvested and sorted for quality
• ☀️ Natural Drying — Whole cherries dried on raised beds to develop fruit-forward sweetness
• 🧪 Swiss Water Decaffeination — Chemical-free process using water, temperature and time to remove caffeine whilst preserving flavour integrity
• ✅ Quality Control — Final cup clarity and complexity verified post-decaffeination

The result is a decaf that retains the character and layered sweetness of a naturally processed Red Bourbon — without the caffeine.

THE CUP

A wonderfully comforting cup with more depth than most decafs can claim. The medium roast coaxes out a sweet milk chocolate foundation, with fig newton's honeyed spice taking centre stage in the mid-palate. As the cup cools, dried red dates emerge with a jammy complexity that lingers long on the finish.

Flavour Notes

• 🍫 Milk Chocolate
• 🍪 Fig Newton
• 🫚 Red Date