Congo-Kinshasa Virunga Cascara – Dried fruit meat

Cascara is Spanish for ‘shell’. This is the skin and pulp of the coffee berry that is sun-dried.

This organic, dry-pulped cascara is produced by Virunga Coffee Company. The production is certified by the highest class of coffee production and is called AtSource+

The strategy for Virunga has been threefold:

1) to increase production through good agronomic practices, 2) to improve quality through training and strict guidelines for production and processing, and 3) to obtain internationally recognized certification to generate better income for farmers.

Virunga has now trained over 8,000 farmers in GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) and has partnered with them for organic certification. They have 35 field officers (trained agronomists) working in the region and distribute over 3 million seedlings per year to farmers in eastern Congo-Kinshasa.

Virunga Coffee is the first company to be licensed to produce and export cascara in Congo-Kinshasa.

The process
The post-harvest process for this cascara began a few years ago with a period of literature review, careful research and many trials. The results of this research phase pointed the team towards a dry pulping technique, where the coffee beans are dried whole on raised beds and then pulped after drying. This process produces a particularly fruity profile in the finished cup.

To maintain consistency, only the highest quality ripe cherries with high Brix levels are selected by hand picking and floating. Careful control of the process is essential to avoid fermentation or mold formation throughout the process.

The region
North Kivu (north side of Lake Kivu) is located at the edge of Virunga National Park and borders Uganda to the east. The region has excellent conditions for the production of specialty arabica with abundant rainfall, high altitude and highly fertile volcanic soils. However, the region suffers from very high poverty and poor infrastructure, which has made it both difficult to produce high-quality arabica and very challenging to export. Virunga Coffee Company has worked to overcome many of these problems through hands-on training of farmers and investment in local infrastructure such as roads and bridges. This has enabled improvements in quality each season and thus higher premiums for farmers.