Rama Dufatanemunda, Natural Red Bourbon - Burundi
Name: Rama Dufatanemunda, We Must Stand Together
Region: Ngozi Province, Burundi
Tasting Notes: guava candy, strawberry lemonade, hibiscus, almond brittle
Producers: 120+ female growers involved in Rama Women’s group
Process: Natural
Varieties: Red Bourbon
Altitude: 1,700 MASL
Roast: Light
Brewing Recipe
Filter (Pourover & Batch Brew): 1:16.6
Espresso: 1:2-1:2.1 (17.5g -18g in, 35-37.8 out, 26-32 sec)
This stellar Natural Bourbon from the pioneering women’s empowerment group, Rama Dufatanemunda, represents years of persistence, advocacy, and collective action by women fighting for the right to farm and steward land in Burundi. We’re grateful to our friend Al Liu at Sustainable Harvest for putting this remarkable coffee on our radar and cupping table.
Burundian and Rwandan coffees often get overlooked, yet time and time again we find them bursting with vibrancy—fruit-forward naturals layered with sweetness and spice, or washed coffees full of clarity and structure. This lot is a shining example of why these origins deserve far more attention.
More about Rama Dufatanemunda:
Several years ago, Marie-Annonciate began organizing women near Mubuga washing station to collectively pursue access to land tenure. In Burundi, patriarchal inheritance systems and the lack of government land codes have historically made it nearly impossible for women to own land independently, especially in rural communities. While activists continue pushing for legal reform, Marie-Annonciate understood that meaningful change also begins at the community level.
With support from the Kahawatu Foundation and Greenco, the women of Rama Dufatanemunda spent years lobbying for land rights. Though they were ultimately unsuccessful in securing formal ownership, their determination inspired a local community member to lease land to the group—opening the door for their vision to finally take root.
By the time they gained access to farmland, the group was ready. During those years of advocacy, the women trained extensively in Good Agricultural Practices through Greenco and established a financial savings association to support long-term sustainability and autonomy. Their work paid off: members saw average yields increase from 0.7kg per tree to nearly 2kg per tree through improved farming practices and collective knowledge-sharing.
The Rama women produced their first harvest in 2017 after spending two years preparing the land and establishing healthy coffee trees. Alongside coffee, members grow beans, vegetables, and potatoes while raising livestock that provides organic fertilizer for their farms—creating a more resilient and diversified agricultural system.
Members selectively handpick ripe cherry and deliver it to Mubuga washing station, where quality and traceability are maintained throughout every stage of processing. Each delivery is floated, meticulously hand sorted, and slowly dried on raised beds over the course of 3–4 weeks. The station maintains rigorous quality standards, repeatedly removing defects to ensure only the cleanest and sweetest cherries complete the drying process.
After drying, the coffee is cupped and evaluated lot by lot by Greenco’s quality team before being transported to Budeca, Burundi’s largest dry mill in Gitega. There, teams of hand-sorters inspect every single bean for defects—an incredibly labor-intensive process that supports thousands of jobs in a country where unemployment remains critically high. During milling season alone, Budeca employs nearly 10% of Gitega’s population, creating meaningful economic opportunities throughout the region.
This coffee is more than a beautiful cup. It’s a reflection of collective perseverance, grassroots organizing, and the power of women building systems of autonomy and care in the face of structural barriers. While this is our first time offering coffee from Rama Dufatanemunda, we’re proud to support their work and share their story through this release.
*IF you would like this coffee ground, please specify the brew method in the comments.
Bags are 12oz, 2lb, 5lb