This is the first time we have been able to offer a coffee from the Democratic Republic of Congo here at Bailies.
This Microlot is named after the Hutwe village, located in the Kirumba region of Nord-Kivu, DRC on the edge of the famous Virunga National Park, bordered by Uganda to the east. Whilst this region has very favourable conditions for speciality arabica coffee production; high-volumes of rainfall, high altitude and fertile volcanic soils, the region is extremely poverty-stricken and suffers from a severe lack of infrastructure- making the high quality arabica coffee in the region both difficult to produce and wildly challenging to export.

Aided by exporters at Olam Specialty Coffee, the Virunga Coffee Company has over the years, been able to overcome many of these obstacles and has done so and at the same time as benefitting the local community with educational programmes, investment in local infrastructure and improvements in quality produce resulting in higher premiums for small holder farmers.

The Hutwe Coffee Washing Station is one of 5 washing stations belonging to the Virunga Coffee Company, setup in 2012. The Virguna Coffee Company have now trained over 2,300 farmers in GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) and obtained organic certification for those farmers. They have 7 full time field officers (trained agronomists) working in the region and have planted over 400,000 seedlings to be distributed amongst smallholders.

Processing:
Ripe cherries are delivered to the wetmill for careful sorting and pulping, before fermentation for 18 - 24 hours, depending on the climatic conditions. Once the mucilage has been broken down sufficiently the parchment coffee is thoroughly washed in clean water channels and graded by bean density before being dried in the sun on raised African beds for 12 - 18 days, (depending on conditions), until the ideal moisture level has been reached. In the daytime the parchment needs to be raked and turned periodically to ensure a consistent drying process and prevent mould or overfermentation. The coffee is also covered in the middle of the day to protect it from the hot sun, and at night time to protect it from rainfall and moisture.

Once the coffee has dried to the right level it is transported to Butembo for dry-milling, grading, sorting and handpicking (triage), before being bagged in GrainPro for export.

Region: Kirumba, Nord-Kivu
Variety: Bourbon
Acidity: Medium-High
Body: Medium
Aroma: Red Currant

DR Congo Hutwe Microlot

Our desire is to craft world-class coffee experiences that honour the skilled labour of our farming partners across the globe with dignity and fairness.
Bailies Coffee Company was founded in 1993 by Russell Bailie, who recognised the growing demand for quality freshly roasted and traceable coffee amongst an increasingly knowledgeable consumer base in the UK and Ireland. The company has since earned industry recognition for its commitment to supplying only the finest, freshest, hand-roast coffee and has supplied espresso beans to two of the last four Irish Barista Champions. At Bailies we specialise in sourcing single origin and single estate coffees and aim for full traceability to origin, farm and farmer wherever possible. We also source and roast Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance and Organic coffees, and develop working relationships with ethical suppliers who have strong focus on sustainability for local farmers and growers

DR Congo Hutwe Microlot

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DR Congo Hutwe Microlot

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