The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) may not be the first country that comes to mind when thinking about specialty coffee, but we’ve been on the lookout for a special offering from this region for a long time. Located just west of Rwanda, the DRC shares the region’s climate and geography, also making it a great place to grow high-quality coffee.

Gihanga is a coffee export project led by Audace Ngabonziza (Ngabo) and Jean de Dieu (Kevin) Nkunzimana which focuses on community-led specialty coffee production that is beneficial for both producers and the local environment, in addition to linking producer communities to the international market through high-quality and affordable coffees. This is a special collaboration and relationship for us, and we work closely with our friends at Queen City Collective Coffee to help make this coffee possible. It’s very special for us when our partners can see their coffee in action, and Ngabo and his wife were able to come hang out at our roastery for a bit while they were in the States over the holidays.

The Nyamasasa washing station sits on the western side of Lake Kivu, just opposite from where we source a lot of our Rwandan coffees. Founded in 2021, this young operation exports just a few containers of specialty coffee each year but is helping to rewrite the story of a region shaped by years civil war. 1,930 dedicated growers, each cultivating about a third of a hectare, made the choice to combine their strengths in order to build a better future for their communities. Hand-picked cherries arrive daily at the Nyamasasa station, where they’re meticulously washed, processed, and dried at the wet mill. The beans then make the journey to the Jumbo Safari dry mill in Goma, before making their way to the ports of Mombasa, Kenya or Tanzania.

This Arabica lot was grown between 1800 – 2000 MASL and is fully washed. Washed Congolese coffees, like those from neighboring Rwanda, are known for their clean, pleasant acidity and subtle fruitiness. Roasting this coffee brings out a very nice balance between the bright sweetness of apricot and pleasant florality of chamomile before delivering a sweet, lingering finish that reminds us of panela. We’re proud to be a part of such an impactful mission, and we hope you enjoy this bright, sweet coffee.