Burundi Gakenke Honey
Blackberry, Jaboticaba, Red Plum, Maple Syrup, Apricot, Black Tea
Lively, velvety, and expressive. Gakenke hails from the Kayanza highlands, where altitude and meticulous processing yield coffees with real precision.
The honey process delivers a milder body than a classic washed Burundi, with a clean cup and pleasant, syrupy sweetness.
Think purple fruit like jammy blackberry and exotic jaboticaba, followed by a bright apricot acidity. It gets sweeter and more velvety as the cup cools down, finishing with a delicate black tea aftertaste.
Brews Calling
Ratio: 1:2
Dose*: 22g
Yield: 44-46g
Time: 28-32s
*If your basket size differs from our recommendations, please use the ratio to work out your custom recipe & play around with your grind setting to achieve a steady pour time.
Owner
Country
Region
Altitude
Process
1,780 Smallholder farmers
Burundi
Gatara, Kayanza
1,700 - 1,800m
Honey
Body
Acidity
Sweetness
Roast Degree
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The Gakenke washing station was founded in 1991 and brings together more than 1,780 small farmers, each of whom cultivates coffee on a small plot of land. They also grow bananas, beans and taro for their own subsistence. The high altitude, fertile volcanic soil and mild climate of the Kayanza region create ideal conditions for the slow ripening of cherries, which produces exceptionally complex coffees.
Gakenke station is equipped with 2 floatation tanks, 10 fermentation tanks, 2 soaking tanks and 224 drying beds and can process up to 750 metric tons per season. Thanks to this centralized processing and modern equipment, even small batches contributed by farmers result in micro-lots of high quality.
Honey processing is key to achieving the unique profile of Gakenke. Honeys in Burundi were a rarity, but more washing stations have been adopting the process and yielding great results. It delivers a milder body than fully washed coffees, adding extra complexity without losing the sweetness and acidity.
The process begins with hand-picking the best ripe coffee cherries, which are then stripped of their skin, but some of the sweet mucilage remains. The cherries are then spread out on drying beds, where they slowly dry under the African sun. This careful processing releases rich sweet and floral notes, making every cup an unforgettable experience.
Gakenke is extraordinary brewed as a filter. From an intense purple fruit driven first sip, it gets sweeter and more syrupy with every degree it drops.
