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End of season in sight! The countdown has begun! May has passed by and the coffee season is already in its last weeks. The sun´s up again at the one thousand and one hills country and that means that a last effort is necessary to finish the harvest in style!

Harvest, what's up? Our FW and Naturals coffees are getting ready to leave their rest and start their journey to the dry mill. Meanwhile, our honey processed coffee is also chilling out under the sun getting the perfect moisture levels for your cup. On the other hand, this year we are experimenting once again with yeast fermentation, with a far from easy objective: to surpass last year's excellent result. Even if the volumes in Burundi are not as high as last year´s due to cyclicity and poor rains, we are ready to fight to the very last cherry so that Burundian coffee continues to reach every corner of the globe!

Goats and pigs all over the place!

The Goat Project is back! A new edition has been possible thanks to the support of the Kahawatu Foundation and the following roasters: Amavida, Kickapoo, Joe Coffee, Red Rooster, Intelligentsia, Jittery Joe´s, Onda Origins and Counter Culture. This time, we have distributed 156 goats in Nemba, Kibingo, Masha & Gakenke CWSs and 83 pigs in Yandaro CWS!

The project responds to the needs of our farmers to obtain organic fertilizer for their plantations in order to increase the yield of their coffee production. Aiming at creating the biggest impact possible, the project implements a solidarity chain by which the beneficiary farmers deliver the next generation of goats to the rest of the community. In just three words: hope through coffee!

Such a big event was covered by local newspapers. If you click here, you can find the article online (in French) with further details!

CoE announcement

We would like to share with you a very tough decision we have taken recently: we are not going to participate in this year´s edition of the Cup of Excellence.

After much thought, we believe that this is the right decision for several reasons. In the first place, because due to the extremely low volume of coffee we are witnessing this year in Burundi, submitting our coffee to the Cup of Excellence inevitably means not being able to meet the demands of our clients. At Greenco, the clients always come first, and we should not forget that even when such complicated dilemmas arise. And secondly, we also believe that having dominated the competition every year since our inception, it is time to pass the baton to other producers present in the country so that they can also make themselves known internationally and thus improve the image of Burundi coffee as a whole.

In any case, we will of course promote the event as we always do and we will also support the organization in all ways required.

From the world to Burundi...

May started with a very special visit from Greenco owner, Mr François Bercher. Although François comes frequently and is difficult to impress, we believe he was able to see with his own eyes all the efforts we are making to consolidate ourselves as the leading producers of specialty coffee in Burundi and one of the best in East Africa. Otherwise, if you don't receive this newsletter next month you already know the reason...

Our Dutch friends from Brinks Coffee have spent a couple of days with us in Burundi. Why such a long trip? "The best way to sell Greenco's coffee was to come and see with our own eyes how it is produced and the impact that is created in the farming community. Now we can say with certainty that we know the reality behind this coffee and we can share it with our customers". As it was their first time in Burundi, we´ve had the chance of showing them the way we process coffee from the tree to the dry mill but also all the incredible places this small country has to offer. We hope you'll come back soon!

A couple of weeks ago we also received a visit of Thompson Owen from Sweet Maria´s. With more than 20 years in the specialty coffee business and several trips to Burundi under his belt, our friend Tom from Sweet Maria´s is a living encyclopedia of coffee. Although every year we try to surprise him with something new, the truth is that Tom's visits always end in the same way: you learn a lot more than you can teach him. Thanks for the free classes, Tom!

Last but not least, we wanted to share with you that we have been lucky enough to randomly meet François Loncke, a Belgian who started cycling in Australia two years ago and has made it to Burundi! After stopping in our house to rest a bit, share a few good stories and a couple of coffees to gather strength for the road, François continues with his adventure, which you can follow via @francis_bike_on on Instagram.

And from Burundi to the world! We are happy to announce that the sample shipment period has officially started: our first samples from 2019 are ready! Travelling throughout the world, we hope that our coffee will spread joy and happiness among the seven seas. If you are interested in receiving more information about our sampling availability click on the button below!

Contact us / Sample me up

Carlos' Words As the end of harvest approaches, it is important to maintain motivation to finish the season in the best possible way. What starts well ends well! In a low volume year like this, every detail counts and at Greenco we are aware that we can´t lower the bar. The solution is simple: the smaller the quantity, the higher the quality! In recent weeks we have been fortunate enough to receive several visits from different parts of the globe, and more visitors will keep coming in the coming weeks. At Greenco, it's something we're very excited about and that's why we try to make sure that our visitors have the best possible experience and get to know what's behind the coffee they're buying. But besides, we also try to show them all the wonders that Burundi hides: when you have a treasure you have to share it! This June, in addition to the above, we have several challenges ahead of us: farmers´ payment, samples shipment, beginning of the milling, new sustainability projects... Stay tuned to know more, we'll be back in a few weeks!

< Signature Carlos Bobillo Barbeito ” > < “ signatureCBB >

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Greenco S.U · 33 Route Ngozi-Gitega · Ngozi · Burundi �