Congo Fine Coffee-- A promising Future Star

For professional baristas, please follow the coffee workshop (Wechat official account cafe_style)

Congo's Specialty Brews Look to Be the & # 39TX Future of Coffee'

Linda Mugaruka perched her nose above a steaming cup of coffee. Swilling and then spitting, she noted that it was clean and sweet with traces of fruit. On her clipboard she scrawled 94, a high score for a specialty coffee.

Mugaruka, 24, is one of a few cuppers, or coffee tasters, from the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the only wom an working as a cupper in the region. This spring, flanked by connoisseurs from South Korea and the United States, she stood over some of the most coveted cups of special ty coffee from her homeland at the nation's fledgling annual coffee festival, held here in the eastern city of Bukavu.

Linda. Mugaruka put his nose on a steaming cup of coffee. She took a gulp and then spit it out. She found the coffee refreshing, sweet and fruity. She scribbled 94 on the clipboard, which was a high score for fine coffee.

Mugaruka, 24, is one of several coffee cup testers (or coffee product reviewers) from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the only women's cup tester in the region. This spring, Congo's first annual coffee festival was held here in the eastern city of Bukavu, where she oversaw the production of some of the most coveted cups of boutique coffee from her hometown, surrounded by South Korean and American connoisseurs.

Congolese boutique coffee has great potential.

At the gathering, called the Saveur du Kivu, or Flavor of Kivu, cuppers sought to discover new flavors from a nation troubled by con flict and political instability, yet believed to be one of Africa's most promising producers of specialty coffee, with the potential to be one of the world's biggest producers of commercial-grade coffee as well.

Coffee was once Congo's second-biggest export, after copper, contributing an estimated $164million to the nation's economic output in the. But during recent decades of conflict, exports dropped drastically.

At the party called Kivu Flavor, the barista tried to find a new flavor. Congo is a country beset by conflict and political unrest, but it is also believed to be one of the most promising boutique coffee producers in Africa and has the potential to become one of the largest producers of commercial grade coffee in the world.

Coffee used to be Congo's second largest export after copper, contributing about $164 million to the country's economic output in the 1980s. But coffee exports have plummeted in recent decades because of conflicts.

Now, with millions of dollars in donor funding in recent years to build the coffee industry and help stabilize the region, coffee ex ports have steadily increased and farming cooperatives are attracting the attention of global buyers like Starbucks and the Israeli company Strauss. This is despite an overall economic crisis in Congo, political turmoil over President Joseph Kabila's refusal to step down at the e nd of his term and violence including atrocities carried out by a government-linked militia that were cited by the United Nations.

During the first half of the 20th century, as the country was subjected to exploitative Belgian rule, extensive coffee plantations rolled through the green hills of eastern Congo. The country's beans were roasted in coffee houses in Brussels and Rome, and its coffee was among the world's finest.

The coffee industry was decimated after rebel groups marched through those fields in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and the toppling of Congo's long-standing dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, in 1997.

Now, with millions of dollars donated in recent years to build the coffee industry and promote regional stability, coffee exports have grown steadily. The country's agricultural cooperatives are also starting to attract the attention of global buyers such as Starbucks and Israel's Strauss. Despite the full-scale economic crisis in Congo during this period, President Joseph. Kabiyra's refusal to step down has triggered political unrest and a wide range of violence, including atrocities by militias denounced by the United Nations, who are linked to the government.

In the first half of the 20th century, when Congo was still subject to Belgian exploitation, continuous coffee plantations spread all over the green hills of eastern Congo. The country's coffee beans are roasted in cafes in Brussels and Rome, and Congolese coffee is the world's top coffee.

After the genocide in Luanda in 1994 and the overthrow of Congo's longtime dictator Mobutu in 1997, rebel groups passed through the woodlands and the coffee industry was destroyed.