Coming to America as refugees from Burundi, husband and wife Hamissi Mamba and Nadia Nijimbere saw very little representation of their East African culture in and around their adopted hometown of Detroit, one of Blackest big cities in the country.
So they had the crazy idea to start a restaurant in Detroit cooking the food they grew up on in Burundi. The restaurant, Baobab Fare, debuted in early 2021 to instant critical acclaim and attention from the likes of Esquire, Eater, The New York Times, the Detroit Free Press, and in 2024 the couple received a nomination for a James Beard Award.
But the restaurant could only do so much, and Mamba and Nadia wanted a larger platform to share the stories of their homeland and celebrate the culture and craftspeople of East Africa. More than this, they wanted a way to impact Burundi directly by offering economic opportunity and support.
And that's why Soko was born — to uplift East Africa and help share its richness and beauty with the world while providing jobs and commerce for the region.
When you buy our Burundi coffee beans, your purchase directly supports small family farms producing some of the world’s most distinct coffee in one of its least-developed countries. Despite the logistical challenges, sourcing our coffee from Burundi helps sustain the livelihoods of hundreds of families in the region.
GROWN IN BURUNDI
ROASTED IN DETROIT
Grown in East Africa’s high altitude and pristine soil, MATONGO washed coffee beans from Burundi offer a stunning mix of caramel, brown sugar, and black tea tasting notes — perfectly balanced bold flavor in every cup.
Meanwhile, our GAHOMBA coffee beans are processed the natural, ancestral way. Requiring little to no water, farmers instead sun-dry whole coffee cherries on traditional raised beds, rotating the fruit until the husks can be removed. During this process, sugars from the husk are absorbed by the inner bean, resulting in a sweeter, more fruit-forward and full-bodied flavor profile in the cup.
Grown by majority women-owned smallholder farmers, our MURUTA coffee beans are decaffeinated using an organic process that removes caffeine using only water and time. Requiring no chemical additives, this gentle process preserves the unique tasting notes of Burundi coffee beans, resulting in a decaf of unparalleled taste and complexity.
All of our beans are roasted locally near Detroit by our friends at Sabbath Coffee Roasters.