In the African specialty coffee landscape, Ethiopia and Kenya often take the spotlight, yet Rwanda, an inland highland nation known as the "Land of a Thousand Hills," also produces surprisingly remarkable coffee. Rwanda sits on the East African plateau at an elevation of about 1,600 meters, with a tropical highland climate and abundant rainfall that provide ideal conditions for coffee cultivation. Its growing regions can be divided by province into Muhazi, the Lake Kivu area, Huye, and Virunga, among others, with the harvest period mostly concentrated between March and August. In terms of varieties, Bourbon and Mibirizi, Rwanda's oldest variety, dominate, with a small amount of Jackson also planted. This article will guide you through a systematic understanding of Rwanda's national character, the distribution of its coffee regions, and the characteristics of its main varieties, so you can experience the unique charm of this country's coffee. [more…]

The Democratic Republic of the Congo was once a major coffee exporter in Africa, with annual exports reaching as high as 120,000 tons in the 1970s. However, civil war and political turmoil once drove its coffee industry to rock bottom, with exports plummeting to just 10,000 tons in 2002. Today, this large African country with a population of 87 million is rising again thanks to its superior natural conditions, gaining international attention for its high-quality Arabica coffee. From Ituri to Grand Nord, from Petit Nord to Bord du Lac, each major producing region displays its unique terroir charm. Front Street Coffee takes you on an in-depth look at Congo's coffee varieties and distribution, the characteristics of its producing regions, and the severe challenges the local industry faces in terms of corruption, financing, infrastructure, and security, as well as its hopes for revival. [more…]

Rwanda, an East African highland country known as the "Land of a Thousand Hills," is claiming an increasingly important place on the global specialty coffee map. From coffee's introduction in 1904, to the post-1994 genocide effort to revive the economy through coffee, to breaking into the specialty market through the Cup of Excellence, Rwandan coffee has traveled an extraordinary road. Among its regions, the Lake Kivu production area—with its unique lake-and-volcano microclimate and benchmark washing stations such as Twumba—has become the emblem of Rwandan specialty coffee. This article takes you deep into the terroir code of the Lake Kivu region, along with related product information recommended by Front Street Coffee. [more…]