Congo washed Arabica Kivu 3 Guillame

After Congolese coffee was long considered the underdog of the industry, coffee fans from all over the world are finally starting to recognize the potential of the country's fine qualities. Over several decades, political and economic unrest has been challenging for coffee farmers. Resources such as roads, water and electricity were short and the country is recovering slowly. Still today, the country mainly produces Robusta. However, in recent years and with help from the international community, cooperatives have started to revive the coffee industry and focus on a general increase of high-quality Arabica coffees.

As the largest coffee processor and exporter in DR Congo, Coffeelac provides valuable services to the rural coffee community, such as access to finance, training for good agricultural practices for the farmers, promoting sustainability and quality. Coffeelac's Cafe Durable Program encourages farmers to produce high-quality coffee through a transparent buying/pricing model depending on the coffee quality.

The Bweremana washing station, where this washed Arabica coffee is sourced from, is located in South Kivu in the Masisi Territory. Coffee is cultivated along the shores of Lake Kivu by more than 500 farmers. After harvesting only the ripest cherries, they deliver them to the washing station, which has been built recently with the support and encouragement of the local community. At Bweremana, the coffee is carefully sorted, washed, fermented and then dried in the sun on raised beds.