About This Coffee
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is rich in resources and has the capacity to produce high quality specialty coffee. In fact, the DRC once had a thriving coffee industry. However, years of civil wars has left the region with periodic instability and a lack of infrastructure to process and transport coffee. But all that is changing. With the support of Coffeelac, the largest coffee processor and exporter of Arabica beans in Eastern DRC, the Cooperative des Agriculteurs et Eleveurs de Kalehe pour le Development durable (CAEKD) has been working to improve the yields and livelihoods of their 150+ members. This coffee, the culmination of their work in 2019 and before, is a harbinger of the future of DRC coffee. We hope that, in supporting farmer’s production this year and in years to come, we will help usher in a new era of specialty coffee production and quality in the DRC.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Cherry is handpicked on member farms and then brought to the mini washing station on the Isle of Idjwi, run by Coffeelac. Cherry is carefully sorted upon reception and passes through several additional sorting checks throughout the washing process.
After drying the parchment is sent to Goma Mill. This mill, owned and operated by Coffeelac, is considered the most modern in the region. The processing facility, warehouse and cupping lab, can process over 10,000 metric tonnes of coffee annually.