African Coffee Regions - The Cultivation History of Congo Kivu Lake Coffee Beans? Raw Bean Processing of Congo Coffee

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African Coffee Region - The Cultivation History of Congo Lake Kivu Coffee Beans? Green Bean Processing Methods for Congo Coffee?

The Democratic Republic of Congo, known as Congo (DRC), has the equator crossing through its central and northern regions, with most of its territory located in central Africa. It is separated from another Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) by the Congo River. Congo DRC was formerly known as Zaire, with its capital being Kinshasa; Chinese uses the character "Kin" from the capital name added after the country name to distinguish between the two Congos. The famous coffee from Congo (D.R.Congo) is Kivu, named after Lake Kivu which borders Rwanda. In fact, Congo's Kivu comes in eastern and western varieties - the western region has lower terrain and is not authentic Kivu, while the eastern region has high terrain and is close to Lake Kivu, producing authentic Kivu-4 coffee.

Due to continuous civil wars in Congo's history, coffee bean production and processing methods are relatively backward. Therefore, although nurtured by the same Lake Kivu waters, the overall quality of Congo coffee is somewhat inferior to the Rwandan coffee on the eastern shore. Congo DRC has joined the Eastern Africa Fine Coffee Association to further increase the production and quality of exported coffee. The Democratic Republic of Congo, known as Congo (DRC), has the equator crossing through its central and northern regions, with most of its territory located in central Africa. It is separated from another Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) by the Congo River. Congo DRC was formerly known as Zaire, with its capital being Kinshasa; Chinese uses the character "Kin" from the capital name added after the country name to distinguish between the two Congos. Congo's famous coffee is Kivu, named after Lake Kivu which borders Rwanda. In fact, Congo's Kivu comes in eastern and western varieties - the western region has lower terrain and is not authentic Kivu, while the eastern region has high terrain and is close to Lake Kivu, producing authentic Kivu-4 coffee. Due to continuous civil wars in Congo's history, coffee bean production and processing methods are relatively backward. Therefore, although nurtured by the same Lake Kivu waters, the overall quality of Congo coffee is somewhat inferior to the Rwandan coffee on the eastern shore. This year, Congo DRC has joined the Eastern Africa Fine Coffee Association to further increase the production and quality of exported coffee.

As is well known, coffee originated in Ethiopia, which is the earliest Arabica variety; while the Robusta variety originated in Uganda, both countries coming from Africa. As the homeland of coffee, Africa not only possesses many excellent original coffee varieties but today remains one of the world's three major coffee-producing regions. The flavor and mouthfeel of African coffee are the most complex and excellent; due to suitable altitude and climate conditions, African coffee taste surpasses coffee produced in South America and Southeast Asia; this is an unofficial evaluation from the International Coffee Organization (ICO). However, due to poverty, coupled with insufficient publicity and brand building, backward coffee cultivation and harvesting techniques, and lack of government regulation, the export volume and recognition of African coffee beans are far lower than those of South American and Southeast Asian coffee-producing countries led by Brazil. In the recent decade or more, several major African exporting countries (such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda) have strengthened supervision of coffee production and trade, improving cultivation, harvesting, and storage techniques, reducing circulation links for green coffee beans, allowing better quality African coffee beans to reach the world. Better quality has promoted the brand building of specialty coffee in various countries. Today, Kenya AA, Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe, Harar, Uganda's Bugisu AA, and other coffee beans have joined the ranks of world-renowned specialty coffees; it is believed that more and more African coffee varieties will be recognized and join the ranks of world specialty coffees.

Lake Kivu is the natural border between Rwanda and Congo, and the Kavisa washing station is in North Kivu, Congo, right on the northwest side of the lake.

In recent decades, the Democratic Republic of Congo has encountered many difficulties, leading to instability and social division. The ongoing civil war that began in the mid-1990s and continues to this day, along with past colonial issues, has disrupted regional economic stability, with continuous economic turmoil and facing the dilemma of becoming a failed state. The problem of political corruption is rampant, and with the exploitation of its rich mineral resources, the situation has worsened, with rural farmers becoming the biggest victims.

Typically, coffee farmers can only sell their annual cherry production at very low prices to intermediaries, always remaining in an exploited situation. However, with the efforts of professional coffee importers in recent years, this has gradually improved. By providing smallholder producers with fair and transparent access to markets, farmers' livelihoods have improved, coffee culture has gradually developed, and they have begun to focus on producing exceptional coffee.

Kavisa processes coffee in the typical manner of the Lake Kivu region. After the cherries are harvested, they are sent to the washing station within 12 hours for processing. The cherries are then separated by size and density, and the skin and pulp are removed. Next, the parchment coffee undergoes wet fermentation for about 18-24 hours, depending on climate conditions. Finally, the coffee beans are placed on African raised beds to dry for about 20 days.

Flavor Characteristics: Charming Fruit Acidity

African Bean Flavor: Ethiopian coffee has relatively strong orange aroma, Kenyan coffee has rich berry aroma, along with the sour fragrance of plum juice and grapefruit, as well as the refreshing sweet aroma of sugarcane. The orange aroma of Ethiopian coffee and the berry fragrance of Kenyan coffee are the greatest characteristics of African beans and also what fascinates coffee enthusiasts the most.

The general characteristics of African coffee are rich aroma and charming fruit acidity. Its bright acidity is lively and refreshing, but the body of African coffee is often somewhat thin, and the sweetness is not very prominent. Due to drought and water shortage in Africa, the dry processing method is mostly used for green beans, often resulting in uneven and unattractive bean shapes with higher defect rates.

Recommended Brewing:

Dripper: KONO dripper

Water Temperature: 88 degrees

Grind Size: Small Fuji grinder setting 4

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:14, 17g coffee grounds, first pour 25g water for 30s bloom, second pour to 238g water, extraction time around 2:30 seconds

Analysis: The KONO dripper doesn't have many ribs at the bottom, and the filter paper fits tightly against the dripper, achieving the purpose of restricting airflow. This allows water and coffee grounds to have longer contact and soaking time in the dripper, ensuring extraction time and rate for coarse grinding. This allows the coffee grounds to be fully extracted, enhancing the body and making the flavor more concentrated.

Flavor: High balance, clean, thick and solid mouthfeel, persistent finish with dark chocolate flavor.

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