D.R. Congo Mukwinja Organic Fully Washed

Blueberry, cinnamon, nutty, lemon
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Bag Weight 60 KG BAG
Harvest Season 2023/24
Status Spot
Lot Number P8002483-1
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About This Coffee

This organic fully washed 'Kivu 3' lot is from Mukwinja washing station in South Kivu, one of 9 such stations operated by Virunga Coffee Company, set up by Schluter Ltd. (now Covoya Europe) in 2012 to produce specialty coffees in eastern DRC and improve livelihoods for smallholder farmers in the region. Mukwija works with 699 farmers in South Kivu, who cultivate at altitudes between 1,500 and 2,500masl.

Despite the high potential of the coffees around Mukwinja, farmers are which are characterized by a very small farm size, lack of infrastructures for coffee processing and lack of access to high-quality markets. Virunga Coffee is providing technical assistance to coffee farmers on regerative agriculture practices, as well ass access to coffee inputs, namely high-quality coffee seedlings to increase farming productivity, hence profitability. Our goal is to increase economic opportunitites from coffee farming in South Kivu.

Virunga now have now trained over 8,000 famers in GAP (Good agricultural practices) and have partnered them in organic certification. They have 35 field officers (trained agronomists) working in the region and distribute over 3 million seedlings a year to farmers in Eastern DRC.

Origin Democratic Republic of Congo
Subregion South Kivu
Harvest Season 2023/24
Producer Type Washing Station
Wet Mill Mukwinja
Processing Washed
Growing Altitude 1500m - 2000m
Plant Species Arabica
Variety Bourbon
Coffee Grade DRC CA WA KIVU G3
Screen Size 15 Up
Certifications Organic certified
Bag Weight 60 KG BAG
Bag Types Grain Pro / Ecotact

The Region

Eastern DR Congo still bear the scar from 20 years of conflict, political instability, disease, social tensions and illegal activities that put local population in constant risk of precarity and insecurity. Nonetheless, Eastern DR Congo has some of the greatest intrinsic potential to produce high quality arabica coffee in East Africa due to its environmental, geographic and agro-climatic conditions; namely, altitude, volcanic soils and rain patterns. For a long time Congolese coffees have been associated to poor quality and a damaging reputation of insecurity and armed conflicts, pushing Virunga Coffee to constantly fight to restore a name of high-quality coffee associated to high environmental and social standards. A key approach found to be very successful is by maintaining tight control on handling and post-harvesting processes by investing in collection points and washing stations. That's why Virunga Coffee invested In Mukwinja CWS, in order to provide economic oportunities for the surounding communities throuh a sustainable, high-quaility and climate-smart coffee business.

The Process

Ripe cherries are delivered to the station for careful sorting and floatation to sort by density. Once the highest quality cherries are selected they are de-pulped, then fermented for an average of 24 hours his parchment coffee is then dried in the sun for around 10 days until the optimum moisture content has been reached. At this point the coffee is rested in a cool, dry environment for 1-2 months, before being milled, sorted and graded by bean size.

  • Subregion South Kivu
  • Producer Type Washing Station
  • Wet Mill Mukwinja
  • Processing Washed
  • Bag Types Grain Pro / Ecotact
  • Plant Species Arabica
  • Variety Bourbon
  • Min Growing Altitude 1500m
  • Max Growing Altitude 2000m
  • Screen Size 15 Up
  • On Sale No
  • Top Lot No
  • Price Per Kg €7.95
  • Status Spot
  • Certifications Organic certified
  • Coffee Grade DRC CA WA KIVU G3
  • CTRM Contract Number P8002483-1
  • Origin Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Warehouse Vollers Hamburg