Clifton Coffee - DR Congo - Latumba

Latumba Washing Station

DR Congo is new and exciting upcoming origin which we are very pleased to be supporting. This coffee has a similar taste profile to it’s neighbouring country Rwanda.
This particular coffee is from the Latumba washing station which is along the shores of Lake Kivu, one of the Great Lakes of Africa, resting 1700masl.

AMKA CO-OP has a total of 1,400 members who are rebounding from decades of conflict and an economic crisis. The washing station was built in 2014 with the help of a Belgian NGO COMEQUI who have been working in the region since 2009 to empower coffee farmers through education, improved picking, processing as well as creating co-operatives to bring the people together. Their goal is to help the farmers become self-sustainable whilst improving their income and lives.

Processing

The coffee in this region is organic as there is no use of pesticides or artificial fertilisers on the trees.

Once the coffee has been collected and delivered to the station it is de-pulped and then undergoes an initial wet fermentation for 12-18 hours before being flowed through channels where the coffee is separated according to density. The coffee then undergoes another soaking period of 12 hours before being dried on raised African beds for 12-16 days depending on the weather. The coffee is then transported to the Coffelac dry mill in Goma where it is rested and milled.