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What are the characteristics of Congo coffee? Introduction to Congo Virunga Coffee Company - Is Congo coffee delicious?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). When mentioning Africa, people's first impressions often include: desert, aridity, tribes, poverty, mystery, and so on. It is precisely because of its climate environment that it has become an ideal habitat for coffee trees to grow. The world's first coffee tree was discovered in the Horn of Africa. Local indigenous tribes often grind cof

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Cafe_Style (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

When mentioning Africa, people's first impressions often include: deserts, drought, tribes, poverty, mystery, and so on. Paradoxically, its climate environment has become ideal soil for coffee trees to thrive.

The world's first coffee tree was discovered in the Horn of Africa. Local indigenous tribes often ground coffee berries and mixed them with animal fat to create many spherical balls. These indigenous people regarded these coffee balls as precious food, exclusively enjoyed by warriors about to go into battle. At that time, people did not understand why coffee consumers showed excitement—they didn't know this was caused by coffee's stimulating effects. Instead, people regarded this as religious fervor displayed by coffee consumers. This beverage was considered very mysterious and became exclusive to priests and doctors.

Coffee is Angola's main economic crop, Burundi's primary export commodity, and formerly Kenya's largest foreign exchange earner. Ethiopia is known as the "land of coffee"; Côte d'Ivoire's coffee production holds an important position in the world; Uganda is famous in Africa for its yield per unit area...

Congolese coffee maintains the wild and rich flavors characteristic of African beans, with excellent acidity, smooth and silky mouthfeel, and solid body.

The Second Congo War, which began in 1998, caused over 5.4 million deaths and was called "Africa's World War." Congo was devastated, and coffee cultivation was severely impacted, leaving people struggling for livelihood.

The cooperative established in 2002 connected small coffee farmers with the international specialty coffee market, giving small farmers hope. It immediately brought positive development to the local area, building residential housing and basic public facilities. By 2014, it had grown from 263 members to 5,300, with 10,000 mu of cultivation area, with over 20% of members being women, many of whom are widows.

Various nutrients in green coffee beans undergo thermal degradation during roasting, forming various aromatic molecular structures that produce flavors similar to different fragrances. Good coffee beans naturally have rich aromas, and at high, medium, and low temperatures, they exhibit various natural aroma changes that are very pleasant and worth savoring carefully.

Congo's Nord-Kivu province provides excellent conditions for coffee production, with abundant rainfall, high altitude, and fertile volcanic soil. The Mutendero processing plant belongs to Virunga Coffee Company, which deeply operates in the Nord-Kivu region. Within three years, they brought three agronomists to assist local farmers in improving cultivation, helping 2,300 coffee farmers obtain organic certification, and cultivating over 400,000 coffee seedlings distributed to farmers to increase yield and improve quality in the region.

Under quality-focused operations, processing plants belonging to Virunga Coffee Company won the Congo championship in the 2014 AFCA green coffee competition, secured second place in 2017, and took 3 of the top 5 positions, demonstrating excellent quality!

The Arabica coffee variety Bourbon is one of the varieties closest to the original species, discovered on Reunion Island (originally named Bourbon) next to Madagascar. Bourbon has its own characteristics, similar to Typica in having high-quality mouthfeel, wine-like acidity, and sweet aftertaste. Bourbon and Typica can be distinguished by their coffee tree leaves and bean appearance—Bourbon leaves are broader, the solid coffee cherries are smaller, and they grow more densely, making the bean appearance relatively rounder compared to Typica.

Washed / Wet Processed

After removing the skin and pulp, the beans are soaked and fermented in fermentation tanks to clear the pectin mucosa remaining on the inner parchment. Then they are washed with water and dried by sunlight or machines, having the rich acidity that is one of the conditions for specialty coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee suggests using water at 86-88°C to brew Congo coffee, which yields a rich, full-bodied flavor with a hint of wild character.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services: https://shop104210103.taobao.com