Our latest addition to our line of specialty coffees is Congo Mapendo. Mapendo is Swahili for “Love” and has tasting notes of green apple, molasses and lemon peel.
Mapendo coffee is farmed in Congo on 16 separate lots by over 4,000 coffee farmers and nearly 40% of those farmers are women. Fikiri Charlotte is the Vice President within this Mapendo Women Co-op located in South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Growing coffee has positively impacted her life and family as it has allowed her to buy goats for breeding and the manure produced strengthens the ecosystem of her farm by fertilization of the fields. Fikiri has been able to build a house and buy another field where more coffee trees have been planted. Fikiri is representative of the women who are able to use their coffee premiums to help their families with medical bills and schooling for their children.
The Mapendo farmers produce fully washed coffee that has been FTO certified since 2009. There are 3 washing stations and a 4th is under construction along with a modern lab for coffee cupping and for quality control.
Below lists some of the additional information for this coffee and the growing region:
Region: African Great Lakes
Province: South Kivu
Territory: Kalehe
Washing Station: Chebumba
Variety: SL34
Fermentation: 12 hours dry; 24 hours wet
Drying: 12-21 days on raised beds, down to 10-12% moisture
Certifications: FTO Certified
Growing Altitude: 1,480 - 2,000 MASL
Process: Fully Washed
Harvest Months: April - July
