DR Congo Coopade Coop Kivu 3 Coffee Beans Medium Roast Fair Trade UTZ

The Coopade Co-operative was founded in 2014 and has a membership of 4,159 producers, 1276 women and 2883 men. It is UTZ certified, and Fair Trade. Four of the 11 micro-washing stations are run by the women’s section. The cherries are harvested between September and November and 134 tonnes was exported in 2017, not a massive amount but going for quality rather than quantity. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has a somewhat unusual coffee grading system and consists of three grades. Kivu 3 has 9-23 defects per 500g, Kivu 4 has 24-86 defects per 5005 and Kivu 5 has 86 plus defects per 500g. Kivu 3 and 4 contains a minimum of 54% screen size 17 and 20% screen size 16, with Kivu 5 containing only 44% screen size 17. Obviously, this grade is the highest. According to the information sent to us with the beans, this coffee has a creamy body with a clear, fruity acidity, which is underlined by delicate notes of lemon and hints of chocolate and nuts in the aftertaste. Couldn’t have said it any better myself.