Cowboy Coffee Dark Roast

Arabica Variety: JARC, Local Landraces
Growing Altitude: 1,850 - 2,100 masl
Processing Method: Natural

Sucafina’s in-country partner, Tracon Coffee, has been working to unlock the full potential of their coffee by refining the natural process and experimenting with new processing methods to increase value and stand out among the growing number of specialty washing stations in Ethiopia.

Smallholder farmers deliver cherries to the washing station. Farms are located in Guji, a coffee growing region that was once part of Yirgacheffe but whose microclimate produces such unique coffee, that it was allocated as its own coffee growing region.

Farming methods in the region remain largely traditional. Guji farmers typically intercrop their coffee plants with other food crops. This method is common among smallholders because it maximizes land use and provides food for their families. In addition to remaining traditionally intercropped, most farms are also traditional and organic-by-default. Farmers in Guji typically use very few—if any—fertilizers or pesticides. Most farm work is done manually and very few tasks are mechanized, even during processing.

Farmers selectively handpick ripe cherry and deliver it to the station. At intake, employees visually inspect cherry and accept only fully ripe cherry. Then, cherry is laid to dry in direct sunlight on raised beds. Workers turn cherry frequently to promote even drying. It takes approximately 2 to 3 weeks for cherry to dry.

Bursting with notes of melon, honey, and sweet black cherry, this vibrant natural lot is a true testament to the passion and skill of Guji’s farmers.

Arabica Varieties: Bourbon
Growing Altitude: 1,600 – 1,800 masl
Processing Method: Washed

Busasa Coffee Washing Station, established in the Gashoho area in 2014, operates with a dedicated team of 6 full-time members and up to 150 seasonal workers. The station features 151 African drying beds and sources from 1600 farmers in the surrounding hills. Notably, Busasa’s producers receive a 20% premium above the local market rate, while staff enjoys wages nearly 60% higher than the Burundi average. This commitment extends across Matraco’s portfolio, which includes two more washing stations in Northern Burundi. Matraco also supports local farmers by distributing composted coffee pulp as fertilizer and donating seedlings.

Matraco’s coffee journey began with a truck. Founder Zuberi Matsitsi got his start transporting coffee in trailer trucks, eventually amassing a fleet of over 10 trucks. In 2015, Matraco expanded into coffee production. Today, Matraco continues to transport coffee in their own trucks, ensuring close quality oversight in an area where transportation remains something of a challenge.

During colonization, Belgians forced the people of Burundi to grow coffee to pay taxes, an all too familiar story. So, it is understandable that after independence, the farmers of Burundi were less than enthusiastic about growing coffee and there was almost no focus on quality. When world coffee prices dropped to historic lows 20 years ago, prices paid to farmers by government run washing stations were so low that coffee was smuggled into neighboring countries to be sold as Rwandan or Tanzanian coffee. When prices began to rise and become relatively stable, Burundi coffee farmers in the northern highlands did not forget that Rwanda received better prices for quality. The coffee farmers of Burundi began to emulate some of what was happening in Rwanda, forming cooperatives and seeking ways to improve quality.