Description
About the Roast
This coffee was originally featured as a medium roast coffee that would be a great espresso for anyone looking for a more medium and acidic shot. However, the more we played with the roast profile, we found that we really enjoyed this coffee as a dark roast, so we started taking it to an Italian roast (dark-dark). Bringing more earthy tones than our other selections, this Kivu blend is a great bold cup for those who like more robust coffees. The farm that this coffee is harvested from also helps support various gorilla preserves in the Congo.
- FLAVOR: Cane Sugar, Green Tea, Lemon & Lime, Floral
BODY: Heavy
ACIDITY: Mild
PROCESS: Washed
About the Region
The farming community in North Kivu has become accustomed to adversity. Armed incursion, corruption and disease are part of everyday life, but in coffee they see hope. Coffee is one of the only cash crops these producers grow. It puts money on the table, brings stability to the community and enables farmers to plan.
The Kawa Kanzururu Cooperative is an exciting new Coop with a network of 24 micro-mills along the western rim of the Rwenzori Mountain Range. The benefit of working through a Coop is of huge importance to smallholders since North Kivu is landlocked. Plugging Congolese coffee into the global supply chain means transporting it to the Port of Mombasa in Kenya to reach the sea. Thus, working collectively is essential. The Kawa Kanzururu Coop is also focused on expanded production and quality.
The farming community borders the Virunga National Park which occupies the Semliki River Valley in the 140 km stretch between lakes Edward and Albert in the westernmost arm of the Great Rift Valley. Cocoa and palm oil are also grown in the lower zones, and new crops such as chia seed are also starting to take root. The conditions here are ideal for growing coffee: deep, fertile, volcanic soil, high altitude and adequate rainfall.
