Ninga Hill

This is the second year we're sourcing from Long Miles Coffee in Burundi, and it won't be the last. We keep coming back not only because the coffees are exceptional, but because of what Long Miles has built around them: a project that takes seriously the idea that great coffee and meaningful impact at origin are not separate goals.

This lot comes from Ninga Hill, a farming community in the province of Butanyerera, in the commune of Matongo. The hill sits at elevations ranging from 1,800 to 2,000 meters, with clay-silty soils and a cool, mountainous climate that creates ideal conditions for slow cherry development. Around 741 smallholder producers grow coffee here, each tending an average of 75 trees on modest plots of about 300 square meters. It's a community-scale operation, many hands, one hill.

Cherries are harvested from late March through mid-July and delivered to the Ninga Washing Station, managed by Long Miles Coffee, where they are processed with the care and precision that has become the project's hallmark.

Long Miles Coffee was founded by Ben and Kristy Carlson, who moved to Burundi over a decade ago with a clear conviction: that the country's coffee was exceptional and undervalued, and that building lasting relationships with farming communities was the right way to change that. Today, Long Miles works across multiple washing stations and partner hills, supporting producers through farmer training programs, sustainable land management, and women's empowerment initiatives — addressing real structural challenges in communities where coffee is often the primary source of income.

Buying this coffee is a small but direct way of being part of that work.

Ninga Hill, roasted by Dayglow, originates from Burundi's Butanyerera province in Matongo commune, where Long Miles Coffee cultivates this lot at 1800–2000 meters above sea level. This elevation places the coffee within the range where Burundi's volcanic soils and cool mountain microclimates support the development of complex acidity and nuanced flavor compounds.

Long Miles Coffee has built recognition for meticulous sourcing and processing in the region. Coffees from this altitude and origin typically exhibit bright, distinctive character—though the specific expression here will depend on harvest timing and the roaster's approach. Reference the flavor wheel to calibrate tasting notes against the coffee's individual profile.