MONTHLY SPECIAL - BURUNDI, Akawa Project, Murago Region
Every month, our resident Q Grader and third-generation Wogan, James, searches the world to find a coffee that is ‘weird and wonderful’, and truly excites. A micro-lot, a great back-story, an impressive cooperative, or a particularly unusual taste; once it's gone, it's gone.
We keep the prices of these extraordinary coffees down, so that you have the chance to try something that you might not be able to get your hands on otherwise.
The Farm
In recent years, Burundi has gone through some difficult political and economic times, largely affecting coffee growers. With this in mind, the Akawa project consisting of 11,000 coffee farmers came to life in 2016, with the aim of helping them to reach financial autonomy, which goes beyond just producing coffee.
The Akawa local implementing partner in Burundi receives pre-payment before the crop starts, in order to implement certification requirements and train the farmers. Transactions are also confirmed at price levels at the start of the season, allowing the local miller to have constant economic viability and giving the farmers the reassurance that their product will not only be bought but that they will get full payment in time.
Selected groups of Leader Farmers receive Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) training and are tasked to disseminate the acquired knowledge and skills to other farmers in their area.
The Project also aims to increase Women’s autonomy to support their social and economical place in society, with a vision to reinforce gender balance and respect of women’s rights.
A recent Akawa Project initiative has been to identify natural water sources across Burundi, with the aim of protecting and sanitising them.
The Process
Carefully crafted production of both Natural and Honey coffee started in 2018.
Strict quality control measures are enforced in the cherry drop-off, something which the farmers are happy to work with given the payment mechanism. The coffee is stored in grain pro bags between each processing step, and is sent to Nairobi for storage prior to export, making use of the cooler climate to preserve quality.
Cherries are delivered to the mill within 5 hours of picking and are processed as soon as minimal volumes are collected in order to not compromise quality.
Honey coffee cherries on the stations of Runyinya and Rugazi are passed through the same pulpers as the Fully Washed coffees. The pulpers are cleaned to avoid any contamination between batches.
Once pulped the sticky mucilage bypasses the fermentation tanks and is sent directly to the drying beds. There is no pulping taking place in the case of Natural coffees, these are sent to the drying beds straight after flotation has taken place.
Why Wogan?
Ethical
We work closely with farms worldwide to make sure that coffee farmers are paid a fair price, through Fairtrade and our own Direct Trade certifications. Working hard with coffee farmers to improve their lives and the lives of their families.
Sustainable
We maintain long term relationships with our carefully selected coffee farms, to provide the stability they need to plan for the future. The added bonus? Coffee that improves with every single crop, as their farming practices and equipment improves.
LDPE4 Recyclable
Helping you to do your bit. Our bags are LDPE4 recyclable, meaning they can be recycled in supermarkets. Alternatively, you can check with your Local Authority to see if they will collect it for you. Green lights include mentions of; bread bags, frozen food bags, squeezable bottles, bubble wrap, and carrier bags.
Carbon Pledge
We've pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030, and we're already well on the way. Our warehouses are now powered by solar panels, with the extra juice fuelling our fleet of electric vehicles.
Sustainable and ethical
We've made it this generation's mission to put sustainability at the forefront. We’ve pledged to be Carbon Neutral by 2030 and are well on our way to getting there. LDPE4 recyclable bags, a Roastery powered entirely by solar energy, and a hell of a lot more.
our story
We, at Wogan Coffee, have been lovingly hand-roasting speciality, ethical, sustainable and traceable coffees since 1970. In our third generation, and a wholly independent family company, you can find us rooted in Bristol; the same city as when Mr Wogan established the business over fifty years ago. Laura and James, grandchildren of the bowler hatted gentleman, now have the ropes firmly in their grasp; James as our resident Q Grader in the Bristol Roastery Headquarters, and Laura in London.
Other products Have you tried
