From Seed to Cup: The Journey of Congolese Coffee Beans
Although coffee is grown all over the world, the best—specialty arabica coffee—comes from high-altitude, coffee trees in the coffee belt, which falls between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. According to Starbucks, Africa is home to some of the world’s most unique coffees, with citrus, berry, and spice flavors and floral aromas. In the DRC, coffee is grown on the shores of Lake Kivu and in the shadow of Mount Nyiragongo and the Ruwenzori mountains. Due to the volcanic soils and high-altitude, the environment of South Kivu has excellent growing conditions to produce the best specialty coffee, highly valued for its heirloom qualities and characteristics.
To support Congolese coffee growers, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funds the Feed the Future DRC Strengthening Value Chains (SVC) Activity in South Kivu. The SVC activity is implemented by Tetra Tech, in collaboration with Banyan Global, J.E. Austin Associates, Search for Common Ground, TechnoServe, and World Coffee Research. The project is designed to increase the production and sale of high-end specialty coffees so farm families in Eastern Congo make more money and improve their livelihoods, including household nutrition.
- Author
- Tetra Tech’s Agriculture and Economic Growth Team
- Date
- October 1, 2020