Congo Virunga Kirindera coffee beans

Origin: Virunga National Park, eastern Congo
Producer: Cooperative Coopade (202 small farmers)
Variety: Blue Mountain, Katwai, Rumangabo
Height of cultivation: 1900 m
Parenting: Washed and sun-dried

“Like an incredibly well-made mini-Kenyan”, that was our first thought when we tasted this coffee at the beginning of the fall and decided to buy the raw coffee, which we have now started roasting. Of course there are similarities, absolutely! Because there are few places in the world more ideal for growing coffee than the Congo, just like Kenya. Plenty of rain and plenty of sunshine, volcanic soil and high altitudes allow the berries to develop at just the right pace to create both balance and intensity at the same time.

The small farmers in Virunga National Park have not had it easy over the years. Congo is a country marked by armed violence, war and unrest, with very limited access to healthcare. The focus has been on everything but coffee production, despite the excellent conditions. But now it’s starting to move – and it’s moving fast. The 7000 small coffee farmers in the park have just recently started to organize themselves into various cooperatives and today the area is making great strides on the specialty coffee scene with great quality improvements every year!

This coffee is created exclusively by women. Traditionally, it is the women who grow and harvest the coffee, but here they have also stepped in and taken care of the post-processing at the Coopade cooperative. The fact that their coffee is roasted in Tyresö and drunk by you a thousand miles away gives them pride and a sustainable life.

We are greeted by a well-balanced and sweet cup, where the chocolate and blackcurrants are most prominent. In the coffee, vanilla and black tea blossom among the notes of citrus and honey. It is a rich coffee, but where the flavors and aromas form a nice unity. A lively start to the colder winter day!