December 4

It would have been easy in our early days to put such a stalwart into the category of old school, as after all, they say, familiarity breeds contempt. A theme we’ve heard many times. What a mistake that would have been, for us and our subscribers. Altura Coffee Co first joined us for our sixth collaboration, featuring our first coffee sourced by Sucafina. Sucafina and Technoserve featured in that story, as they also do with todays coffee. 

Consistently, collab after collab we have subscribers looking for one more bag, at cupping's we’ve hosted its been the stand out favourite and our most recent collaboration with Altura Coffee Co has been a personal favourite. Quite simply the most versatile coffee to work with and unusual flavour profile from a Colombian coffee we’ve had.

Their monthly single origin feature is limited each month, so be sure to get into it early so you can get more, because you’ll certainly want it.

Today, we share our first coffee from (Democratic republic of) Congo.

(Words by Sucafina – Green bean supplier to Altura Coffee Co) Alpha New was founded in 2015 to roast coffee for the domestic market. In 2017, after 2 years operating as a successful coffee roaster, they began seeking new ways to reduce the cost of production while increasing market access for small producer and promoting a more equitable distribution of income.

With help from Technoserve and several state and local government, Alpha New acquired land and constructed a wet mill. The Alpha New Washing Station began processing cherry in the 2019/2020 season. Sucafina purchase the station’s entire production in 2020.

Smallholder farmers handpick cherry and deliver it the washing station. Cherry is pulped in an ecopulper. After a period of wet fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and laid on drying beds. Parchment is turned frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 14 days far parchment to dry.

Coffee once played a huge part in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) economy. Eastern DRC was called “a paradise for coffee.”  Unfortunately, the country’s dark colonial history followed by waves of political turmoil limited prosperity in the coffee sector. Today, coffee’s making a comeback as a number of private and public sector actors invest in the country. We believe DRC is a country to watch as it continues to build the infrastructure and knowledge needed for specialty coffee production.  

FARM/COOP/STATION: Alpha New washing station

VARIETAL: Bourbon

PROCESSING: Fully washed

ALTITUDE: 1,630 meters above sea level

OWNER: Alpha New Cooperative

SUBREGION/TOWN: Kishinji, North Mbinga

REGION: South Kivu

FARM SIZE: 0.12 hectares on average

HARVEST MONTHS: April - July

Tasting Notes: Lime, Darjeeling, Dried fruit, Caramel.

Grab yourself a bag here.

Photo credit: Sucafina.