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This coffee is a real fun one, trust us! Burundi Kibingo Cima (see-mah) is a yeast inoculated natural coffee with chocolate covered strawberry flavors and aroma.

What does yeast inoculated natural coffee mean?  Glad you asked!  Yeast inoculation is a cutting-edge process that involves introducing specific strains of yeast during the fermentation stage of coffee processing.  The yeast's metabolic processes convert sugars and organic acids into different flavor compounds.  The yeast basically puts a control over the fermentation process.  Different yeast strains can influence the quality of the final product.   Washed, honey-processed, and natural coffees can all be fermented with yeast to develop great results.

There are 3 common yeast strains that coffee producers typically use: Cima, Oro, and Intenso.  The washing station that this coffee comes from (Kibingo Washing Station) uses LALCAFE Cima yeast (saccaromyces cerevisiae).  Cima yeast was specifically developed for coffee production over a four-year period of research and trials.  The results of these trials showed that Cima is well suited to better control the wet process' efficiency and upgrades the cup quality.  The yeast is able to control the fermentation process against the risk of spoilage micro-organisms that can generate undesirable defects.  Cima yeast tends to develop more sweetness and bring out more fruity flavors, especially citrus fruit, compared to the other strains.

At the Kibingo Washing Station, once the farmers drop off their coffee crop at the washing station, all the coffee is sorted for the best quality.  For natural processed coffee like this Burundi, the whole cherry is placed in an airtight fermentation container (think anaerobic fermentation process.)  The Cima yeast is added to the container and the cherry is left to ferment with the yeast for approximately 36 hours. 

After fermentation is completed, the cherry is moved to the drying tables where it will dry slowly for 2 to 3 weeks.  During that time the cherry is repeatedly sorted and sifted to ensure even drying.  The cherry is left to dry from sunrise to sunset and is covered with a sheet during the evening or when it rains.  Once the cherry is fully dried, they will separate the cherry from the bean and bag the coffee for the importer.