A CUP OF EXCELLENCE
FROM NORTHERN BURUNDI

Our award-winning Arabica bourbon grows on 90 hectares across Kayanza and Muyinga provinces in northern Burundi. Up on the hills 1600-1800 metres above sea level, the air is cool and humid. Rich red soils and high altitudes gives our coffee its sweet, citrusy, raisin, berries aroma. These are the perfect conditions for growing our excellent specialty coffee, with cupping scores over 87%.

Excellent coffee with inclusion at its heart

Matraco’s coffee origins start, not with a bean but a truck. Our founder, Zuberi Matsitsi, was in his 20s when he started transporting coffee in trailer trucks. It grew to a company with more than 10 trailer trucks. From there, the company expanded to coffee production in 2015 as “Matraco .

Today, we continue to transport Matraco coffee in our own trucks, to ensure a close follow up of our quality.
Our award-winning Arabica bourbon grows on 90 hectares across Kayanza and Muyinga provinces in northern Burundi.

Up on the hills 1600-1800 metres above sea level, the air is cool and humid. Rich red soils and high altitudes gives our coffee its sweet, citrusy, raisin, berries aroma. These are the perfect conditions for growing our excellent specialty coffee, with cupping scores over 87%.

We offer fully washed coffee, natural coffee and honey coffee.

Contact Matraco for award-winning, ethical coffee

Our ethos
Matraco’s ethos is to eliminate discrimination and support disadvantaged communities, such as the Batwa. The Batwa people are indigenous to Burundi yet suffer from marginalization, discrimination and poverty. They are a large part of our workforce.

No child labour
We value the progress of the wider community, and because of that, we don’t allow child labour. We believe that children should go to school, not work in the fields. Education is vital for the future of Burundi.

Award-winning coffee
In 2018, we received the Cup of Excellence award with a coffee
cupping score of 87.46. It was awarded to our washed Bourbon from Businde washing station in Gahombo, Kayanza.

Cup of Excellence is the most prestigious competition and auction for high quality coffees. The annual competition features both national and international juries and receives
thousands of entries from around the world.

We are very honoured to be ranked among Burundi’s best coffee growers.

Contact Matraco for excellent, traceable specialty coffee

To achieve

Our Mission

Matraco’s mission is to produce specialty coffee
for the international market, promote the origin
of Burundian coffee, and improve the lives of
Burundian coffee growers.

We proud of our motivated, qualified and
dedicated staff who ensure fast and efficient
communication with our customers.

Our Vision

Future Plans

We want to introduce cherry coffee buying software
at the pulping and washing station. As a coffee producer, our buyers are all overseas. This software will enable us to share clear and complete information with our customers on the traceability of our coffee.

It’s all part of showcasing Matraco’s award-winning
Burundi coffee with the world.

Our Coffee

Fully traceable coffee from the hills of Northern Burundi

We produce specialty coffee from our different plantations and processed in micro batches
according to their hill or origin. This is how our customers can trace exactly where their coffee
comes from. We offer fully washed coffee, natural coffee and honey coffee.

Matraco coffee aims to:

• Supervise all stages of coffee farming from nurseries to harvest
• Certify all of our washing stations
• Stimulate agro pastoral production
• Promote fair trade policies

Washing stations

Matraco has 3 pulping and coffee washing stations
(CWS) in the north of Burundi

• Businde CWS in Gahombo, Kayanza
• Nyagishiru CWS in Buhinyuza, Muyinga
• Busasa CWS in Gashoho, Muyinga

Processing

01. QUALITY OF THE CHERRY HARVESTING

We ensure that our cherries are picked at the right maturity; we select red and completely ripe cherries only. We harvest and transport our cherries to the washing station on the same day.

02. QUALITY CONTROL OF THE CHERRY SELECTION

Our quality control process starts with the cherry selection. First, in the planters’ containers in front of the reception room and a second time during weighing. Staff evaluate the quality of the cherry and we only purchase the best quality cherries.

03. DEPULPING

Pulping machines must be well maintained, controlled and regularly cleaned. They operate for at least 24 hours without stopping. The pulping process involves an oscillating sieve and a light stream of water which takes the parboiled (partially cooked) beans slowly through the pre-spreader and divides them into three categories: A1, A2 and A3.
A1: The best quality. These high-density beans will sink
to the bottom. A2: Okay quality with lighter density; beans are submerged, and A3: Poor quality, low density beans float at the top. Our beans are pulped within 11 hours of picking to ensure good quality and maximum A1 beans.

04. FERMENTATION

Fermentation is the most delicate and important step in producing quality coffee. The fermentation process takes 12 hours on average.

05. WASHING AND GRADING

When the fermentation is thorough, washing is an easy process. The efficiency of the washing is observed by kneading a bean seed in the hand: the parches must crunch. A1, A2 and A3 graduation from the precoder helps to classify fermented coffee into 4 categories: A1, A3B, A3V, A4

06. SOAKING

Soaking is an integral part of fermentation to rid the bean rid of most of its mucilage. It improves and homogenizes the colour of the coffee, and takes, on average, 16 hours. Only A1 parchment coffee is fermented, washed, graded and quenched. After the end of the graduation, the soaking tanks are filled with fresh water.

07. DRAINAGE, PRESETTING AND DRYING

Next comes draining, pre-drying and drying. After draining, the beans are pre-dried on special pre-drying tables with good circulation through to the bottom of the wet coffee layers. Draining and pre-drying takes 3 - 6 hours. The beans are then properly dried outside (if sunny) on flat tables for 10 - 12 days. If the weather is poor, this process can take up to 3 weeks.

08. DRYING END VERIFICATION BY HUMIDIMETER

A1 coffee samples are regularly monitored for humidity. It also helps to predict how long drying will take. The A3B, A3V and floating beans are checked separately by tasting them.

Address

Boulevard de l’Uprona,
Galerie Yes no. 8,
Bujumbura, Burundi

Thank you for contacting Matraco, Burundi’s award-winning, ethical coffee growers. We will be in touch
as soon as possible.

Contacts

Phone:
+257 79 92 79 32
+257 79 59 49 16
E-mail: matraco.sales@gmail.com

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A CUP OF EXCELLENCE FROM NORTHERN BURUNDI

About Us