April 2026: Podium Platinum. Cafe Kreyol
Country: Burundi
Varietals: Red Bourbon
Process: Anaerobic Natural
Producer: Long Miles Coffee Project
Elevation: 2,200 MASL
Tasting Notes: Orange rinds, white grapes, wild flowers
Your coffee:
The Long Miles Coffee Project was founded by Ben and Kristy Carlson with the goal of connecting Burundi’s smallholder coffee farmers with specialty coffee roasters around the world while improving quality and farmer livelihoods.
The project began in 2011 after the Carlsons moved to Burundi and saw both the incredible potential of the country’s coffee and the challenges farmers faced in accessing fair markets and consistent processing infrastructure. Since then, Long Miles has built several washing stations and developed programs that support thousands of farming families across the hills of northern Burundi.
Today the project works with more than 5,500 smallholder farmers, providing training in agronomy, soil management, and post-harvest practices through a team of local agronomists and “Coffee Scouts.” These scouts live in the farming communities and help producers improve harvesting, tree health, and processing methods.
Long Miles has played an important role in raising the international reputation of Burundian coffee by focusing on traceability, paying farmers quality premiums, and helping showcase the unique flavor profiles of coffees grown in the country’s mountainous terrain.
Your roaster:
Cafe Kreyol is an award-winning specialty coffee roasting company founded by Joseph Stazzone and built on the belief that great coffee begins with strong relationships at origin. The company focuses on direct trade partnerships with smallholder farmers and producer groups around the world, sourcing exceptional coffees while helping build sustainable and thriving farming communities.
Cafe Kreyol’s work began in Haiti, where the company developed long-term relationships with coffee producers in the mountains of the southeast. What started as a mission to support Haitian farmers has since expanded into a global network of producing partners across Latin America and Africa.
The company collaborates with the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) as post-harvest process educators and serves on the Cup of Excellence education committee, helping design new frameworks for evaluating coffee quality.
Cafe Kreyol was honored as Macro Roaster of the Year in 2023 by Roast Magazine, reflecting its commitment to quality, innovation, and meaningful partnerships throughout the global coffee supply chain.
