DR Congo Mukwinja

Situated in Central Africa sits the second largest country on the continent—the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The country is almost entirely landlocked, with a tiny stretch of land touching the eastern coast of Africa. Its several mountain ranges form a basin of plains and lowlands that stretch through the center of the country, and a vast majority of the land is covered with the Congo Rainforest—the second-largest rainforest in the world.  

This coffee is the first offering we have ever had from the DRC, largely because specialty grade coffee is just recently resonating with producers there. For most of the history of coffee production in the DRC, the vast majority of coffee grown was a lower-quality species, Robusta. Now that producers are investing in specialty coffee and working in cooperatives to produce higher quality lots, we are excited to see what kind of beautiful coffees come from this country! 

This lot comes from the Mukwinja Washing Station, in the South Kivu region of the country. Grown at an elevation between 1,500 and 2,000 meters above sea level, these Bourbon varietal plants produced cherries that underwent a washed process and were sun-dried on raised beds. As a part of the Virunga Coffee Company in DRC, the Mukwinja Washing Station has been beta-testing a more eco-friendly pulping process that limits water waste. With 699 farmers contributing to this lot of coffee, you see small contributions grown across the region to bring complexity to the final product. The entirety of its production elicits a warming and balanced flavor profile of pomegranate, mulling spices, and tamarind.