Nyamasasa

In Kivu, where C. arabica coffee was introduced by missionaries in 1900, the first crops were created in 1926, giving rise to the organization of the Experimental Station of Mulungu (1929) by the Public Services. Thereafter trials of this crop were also conducted at Nioka Agricultural Station.

In 1931, coffee plantations in Kivu totaled 6,509 ha, 133 of which belonged to the Africans, everything else (almost everything) was owned by the Belgian settlers. In 1964 there were more than 130,000 ha. There are now more than 11,000 coffee producers in the DRC and cooperative associations such as Furaha, Muungano and Sopacdi are valuable partners for coffee growers in sales and distribution. To date, Arabica accounts for one-fifth of the country’s total coffee production.

Cultivated in the northern region of Kivu, Virunga National Park next to Lake Kivu, the altitude of the area is ideal for growing coffee, between 1,460 and 2,000 meters above sea level. Lying on the slopes of one of the volcanoes in the Albertine Rift, this coffee enjoys fertile volcanic soils and an exceptional location.

The complexity of the land, its altitude, precipitation and the reverberation of the sun on the lake are responsible for some of the complexity of the coffee.

The cherries are received at the washing station and are processed at the station itself. Cherries are classified using two channels where those that weigh more than the floats are separated. Once this selection is made, the heaviest cherries are processed with the washing process. They go through the pulper to then leave the grain with the mucilage adhered to it in the fermentation tanks.

Once the mucilage layer has detached from the grain, it is passed through other water channels and left to dry in the sun on raised stretchers.