A Taste of Burundi: Food and Drink You Have to Try

Burundian cuisine is built on beans, plantains, cassava, and some of the finest coffee in the world. Every meal is a window into the land and the community — and the best way to understand the country is to eat the way locals do.

The Dishes to Order

Brochettes — charcoal-grilled skewers of goat or lamb — are Burundi's beloved street food. Alongside them, try boko boko harees, the national dish of bulgur wheat, onion, and chicken, with roots brought by Arab settlers centuries ago.

Round out the plate with ibiharage (fried beans) and ibitoke (fried plantains), the everyday staples that appear on nearly every Burundian table.

Drinks Worth Raising

Urwarwa, a homemade banana wine thick enough to coat your mouth, swings from sweet to sour and appears at every celebration. Impeke, brewed from sorghum, is traditionally drunk through long straws from a shared communal pot.

These drinks are less about the alcohol and more about the ritual — sharing from one vessel is a gesture of community and trust.

Coffee at the Source

Burundi produces genuinely noteworthy coffee, most of it grown for export. Served locally, it pours thick and sweet from dented aluminium kettles into small glasses that hold the heat.

Visiting a hillside estate to see how the beans — and the country's tea — are grown and processed, then tasting a fresh cup at the source, is one of the most rewarding half-days you can plan.