African
DR Congo Bugarula Washed
DR Congo Bugarula Washed
DR Congo is one of the most dangerous and difficult places from which to source coffee. This washed coffee was milled at the Buagrula station at 5000 feet altitude in the Kirumba zone, a very challenging region plagued with rebel groups. The station processes coffee from smallholder farmers and the coffee here is typically of the Bourbon varietal, which thrives in these high altitudes, as well as a local varietal called Rumangabo. The farmers growing this coffee have formed a co-op (SOPACDI).
This is on the Eastern side of DR Congo which borders Uganda and Lake Kivu. The coffee has organic certification and is not sorted by size, but is sorted for defects.
This year's crop is above average.
I like to roast it light, like a Costa Rica. Maybe 20-25 seconds past the end of the first cracks. I'm tasting hints of pineapple and lime aftertaste, good body, not acidic, not earthy, honey sweetness. But you can also roast it to the verge of the 2nd cracks, and here it reminds me of a Rwanda coffee. At that roast level you taste a little bit of fruit and a little bit of chocolate, with some grilled lime smoky bitterness.
Roasts darker than this lose their sweetness and fruity flavors, although are not altogether unpleasant.
This is the November 2024 arrival.
