Description
I have always had a fascination with the Congo – perhaps from a movie I watched as a child. What a different place and culture! It is often seen in a dark light, but specialty coffee cultivation serves as a beacon of progress in a troubled place.
Our friends over at Olam sent us a fresh sample from their washing stations and holy smokes, it has been a bit since we have seen a Congo of this quality and for a reasonable and sustainable price, a win/win in our book. We could not help but to pick it up.
This is small holder coffee coming from 3 small washing stations in the Isale area in North Kivu: Kahondo, Katanda, Mutendero.
A very cool example of Congo coffee. A bit darker toned and lower acidity than most of its African cousins. This cup is full of bakers chocolate, spice and soft fruit tones. Lighter roasting will show some acidity with hints of soft fruit but will not develop those nice rich and potent chocolaty spice tones than many Congo fans love. Medium to dark roasts were the sweet spot for this cup.
Roasting Notes:
Easy to roast and tasty at most roast levels. We would recommend avoiding lighter roasts to start, shooting for a strong medium and tailoring to personal taste preference from there.
THE PRODUCERS
Virunga Coffee Company was established in 2011 by Schluter SA (now Olam Specialty Coffee Europe) with the vision to: “Change lives in DRC through commerce in a mutually profitable way by being a major coffee actor in Kivu.”
Virunga Coffee aims to achieve this vision by improving the quality and yields for farmers in North and South Kivu, primarily through:
– Developing and implementing field-based support activities
– Introducing Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)
– Investing in processing infrastructure
– Organizing assured organic production in close collaboration with over 2,300 farmers (with a further 1,500 by June 2020)
– Bringing an innovative spirit to the development of new products
As well as providing a stable supply chain and specialty market access, Virunga is actively involved in a number of sustainability and social programs in farming communities. These include an extensive tree planting program, disease prevention outreach to tackle critical diseases such as Ebola and HIV, and equipment to help farmers improve their agronomic practices.
THE PROCESS
Ripe cherries are delivered to the washing station for sorting and flotation to select only the ripest for processing. The cherries are de-pulped using a Penagos eco-pulper, fermented for 18-24 hours and then washed in clean water grading channels. Once thoroughly washed the parchment coffee is dried in the sun on raised African beds for 12-18 days, depending on climatic conditions.
In the daytime the parchment needs to be raked and turned periodically to ensure a consistent drying process and prevent mold or over-fermentation. The coffee is also covered in the middle of the day to protect it from the hot sun, and at night to protect it from rainfall and condensation. Once the coffee has dried to the right level it is transported to Butembo for dry-milling, grading, sorting and handpicking (triage), before being bagged in GrainPro for export.
THE REGION
Hutwe village is located in the Kirumba region of Nord-Kivu (North of Lake Kivu), on the edge of Virunga National Park, bordered by Uganda to the east. The region has excellent conditions for specialty arabica production with plentiful rainfall, high altitude and highly fertile volcanic soils. The region is also very poverty-stricken and has had a severe lack of infrastructure which has made high quality arabica both difficult to produce and very challenging to export. Virunga Coffee Company has sought to overcome many of these problems through hands-on farmer education and investment in local infrastructure such as roads and bridges. This has allowed quality improvements every season and, in turn, higher premiums for farmers.
Jeff Foster –
I roasted based on the guidance in the roasting notes for this coffee and it’s spot on with the tasting notes. This is a great cup when you use an Aeropress. Very happy with these beans.