Collecting, transporting, milling, and exporting coffee from the Democratic Republic of Congo has not been easy, especially after the capital of North Kivu fell to M23 rebels in early 2025. We have not been able to source this coffee off and on in recent years due to the ongoing civil unrest because of the M23 rebels. What once was a bright highlight coffee in the early winter months here at 44N has become less available in past years. We have not had this coffee in over 2 years now, so we weren't expecting any this year either, but we were surprised when the Munngano Cooperative reached out to offer a partial container to Cooperative Coffees.
We were warned by our quality control and green bean buyers that the crop is not cupping as well as previous harvests. Part of being roaster-members of Cooperative Coffees, is that central to most of the decisions we make as a collective is supporting our farmers first and foremost. Goma is the center of the DRC coffee industry, with most coffee mills operating in this city. The highly unstable security situation has resulted in large population displacements and a humanitarian crisis in the area, affecting operations and exports on many levels. Most coffee is hand-sorted, and the high incidence of defects likely stems from scarce labor considering the situation. The circumstances in the DRC are extraordinary, and exporting coffee despite them is a feat in and of itself. We are wowed by this alone! The quality issues are not because of a lack of commitment by the producer, but rather to the current situation that has significantly impaired operations and timely deliveries for coffee.
Although the coffee meets our minimum specialty cup score requirement of 84, the physical prep of the landed coffee leaves much to be desired, with defect levels exceeding our expectations. We went back and forth about what to do with this coffee that our partners at Munngano have literally risked their lives for us to offer their coffee. We are not willing to reject this coffee even though it is subpar, when at this time of crisis they need our support the most. Part of the ethos of 44 North and Cooperative Coffees is to uphold our commitments to our farmers as much as possible even when the growing season or harvest doesn’t go as planned. Our producing partners at Munngano have gone to extraordinary lengths for us to have the smallest amount of green coffee. So we are telling their story to you, our loyal coffee drinkers. Yes, we all want a really good cup of coffee, but there is the other side to this story, of the people who work tirelessly to even get us the green coffee in the first place. We are roasting it with care and are leaning into the earthy bright notes that are coming through in the cup.
This coffee is not wildly popular, but those who like it, love it for its unique tasting notes. African coffees notoriously have an earthy, savory undertone. People who love those notes of soil, green tomato, green pepper, woody earthiness appreciate African coffees that highlight it well. Often roasted light, African coffees, and this coffee from the Congo also has bright citrus notes. Our Ethiopia Sidama, for example, has bright notes of lemon. This Congo coffee has almost effervescent notes of pink grapefruit with earthy notes under that brightness. It is not as good as in previous years, but it is also not undrinkable, which was our threshold. It might not be your favorite coffee and this is why we are only roasting a small amount of it. We wanted to uphold our end of the deal of purchasing the green that Munngano has been able to produce given the ongoing crisis.
Muungano means “togetherness” in Swahili. The coffee growing cooperative was founded in 2009 on the slopes near the shores of Lake Kivu. This already small and continuously shrinking cooperative exports a small amount, and less now, of around 5 containers per year of specialty coffees to Europe and the US. A container holds 300 69 kg/152.12 lb. bags of green coffee. 95% of the farmers deliver fresh cherries to the cooperative and 5% of them wet process the coffee at the farm level. Once the coffee is processed and dried in South Kivu, it is sent to the Jumbo Safari dry mill in Goma to be sorted. As we learned earlier, Goma is in ruins currently, hence the hand sorting required and higher incidents of defects. When ready, the coffee is loaded onto a truck to make the long road to the port of Mombasa, Kenya. Muungano members live in different communities that continue to be divided and displaced by the civil war. These dedicated coffee farmers continue to combine their strengths in order to try to build a greater future for their communities.
We have donated $500 already to Munngano Cooperative and will be collecting $1 for every sale of a bag of this coffee to further assist them, through On The Ground, a coffee farming community specific non-profit organization. On the Ground is working on Gender Equity Programming supporting over 836 women and their husbands in equity training programs. Many women in the Eastern DRC are illiterate. OTG has sponsored basic literacy and math courses with a focus on relevant financial transactions that women coffee farmers need to calculate in their work. Courses also include information on breastfeeding, the fight against HIV/AIDS, the prevention of water-borne diseases, Ebola, Covid-19, and malaria.
25 million of the estimated 40 million Congolese adults do not have access to formal financial services - women even less so. OTG sponsors small savings and lending groups to fill this gap. Women pool a small amount of money as a small group to create a loan fund. Anyone in the group can apply to borrow from the fund and the group elects which applications to support. The refunding is done with a small interest of 5% and at the end of the program women share the capital and interests proportionally and continue to loan money within the group. This highly successful model has been deployed across the world in many countries.
Life in the Eastern DRC is unpredictable. Violence, natural disasters, and worsening climate change mean coffee farmers need a diversity of income streams to survive. OTG’s gender equity programming teaches its women participants additional trades to supplement their coffee farming income. Women learn how to make different breads and soaps, how to sew, interlock bricks without cutting trees, manufacture stoves, make water filters, and how to contribute to the protection of the environment.
Your purchase of this coffee will help continue the efforts of On the Ground in DCR.
The safety and lives of our coffee farmers are at risk, but having a source of income provides hope and opportunity. Thank you for helping us support our farmers in the Democratic Republic of Congo during their time of need, in the best way we know how, by sharing their coffee with our little piece of the coffee world.
To learn more about about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, visit: cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/violence-democratic-republic-congo.
To learn more about On The Ground visit: onthegroundglobal.org/drc-projects