You can learn a lot from a crop report. You learn something different when you stand at the washing station, cup the coffees and talk to the people producing them.

On our latest sourcing trip, we travelled through Burundi and Rwanda to see how the 2026/27 crop is taking shape -meeting long-standing partners, visiting washing stations, tasting coffees and looking beyond the headline numbers.

What we found was not one Great Lakes story, but two.

→ Burundi is showing a significant recovery in production, with encouraging quality reports.
→ Rwanda is entering another stable season, with consistent quality and a broadening range of processing styles.

Burundi’s 2026/27 coffee crop is looking considerably more positive than the previous one.

Weather conditions during the growing season were favourable, with sufficient rainfall and a good balance of sunny and rainy periods. Conditions were also relatively dry during processing, supporting drying and helping producers make the most of the crop.

The 2026/27 volume is currently estimated at around 16,000-24,000 tonnes, compared with approximately 8,000-12,000 tonnes in 2025/26.

That increase is particularly significant against the backdrop of Burundi’s long-term production decline. After years of shrinking volumes, the coffee sector has been moving in a more positive direction since 2024, with the latest crop pointing towards a much stronger season.

The improvement in volume does not mean that the challenges have disappeared. Producers and local businesses continue to operate under pressure from inflation, rising production and operating costs, limited access to cash and currency instability, while the wider NY Arabica market continues to influence local coffee prices.

For specialty roasters, the interesting part is what sits behind the numbers: more availability from an origin with experienced washing stations, strong producer relationships and a diverse range of washed and natural coffees.

Our long-term partner KALICO works with smallholder producers through seven washing stations in Burundi, focusing on traceability, quality and access to specialty markets. The stations predominantly process Arabica Red Bourbon and work across different processing methods, giving us the opportunity to explore quite different expressions of the same origin.

One of the stations we visited was Butihinda Washing Station in Muyinga Province, located at approximately 1,700 metres above sea level. Built in 1992 on Butihinda Hill, the station was established to shorten the long journey local coffee farmers had to make to deliver their cherries during the 1980s. Today, between 2,500 and 3,500 smallholder farmers from the surrounding mountains of Masaka and Ngara deliver their cherries to the station.
The high altitude, distinctive local microclimate, and abundant water resources create ideal conditions for producing high-quality coffee.

Butihinda is particularly known for its natural Inzahabu coffees. In Kirundi, a Bantu language spoken in Burundi, “Inzahabu” means “Gold Coffee” — a fitting name for coffees that showcase the unique character and potential of this remarkable region.

From Butihinda Washing Station, we are offering both a washed, a natural and an anaerobic expression:

BUTIHINDA WASHED
Arabica · Bourbon · Washed · 82-84 SCA
Dark chocolate · Caramel

INZAHABU MUKINGIRO NATURAL
Arabica · Bourbon · Natural · 85 SCA

Together, these coffees show the diversity within the Burundi selection -from classic chocolate and caramel profiles to brighter fruit, floral and honey-like characteristics.
Red fruits · Chocolate

INZAHABU MUKINGIRO ANAEROBIC
Arabica · Bourbon · Anaerobic · 86 SCA
Tropical fruits · Winey

Further west, Mpanga Washing Station in Kayanza brings another expressive washed coffee:

MPANGA WASHED – KAYANZA
Arabica · Bourbon · Washed · 86.25 SCA
Strawberry · Floral

And south from Cangwe Washing Station in Bururi:
CANGWE WASHED – BURURI
Arabica · Bourbon · Washed · 86.25 SCA
Floral · Honey

Together, these coffees show the diversity within the Burundi selection -from classic chocolate and caramel profiles to brighter fruit, floral and honey-like characterists.

BURUNDI
A recovering crop, favourable quality conditions and a broader selection of differentiated washing-station coffees make the 2026/27 season particularly interesting to explore.

RWANDA
Stable production, consistent quality, strong processing expertise and an increasingly developed specialty infrastructure continue to support Rwanda’s position as an origin to build programmes around -while its higher cost environment needs to be factored into sourcing decisions.

In both cases, early tasting and planning can give you more choice.