This blend combines two terrific coffees, the first from 90 producer-members of the SOPACDI cooperative, growing coffee in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the second from Colombian farmers growing coffee around the communities of Tablón de Gómez and Buesaco.

The Congolese coffee was grown near Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by 90 farmer-members of the SOPACDI (Solidarité Paysanne pour la Promotion des Actions Café et Development Intégral) cooperative. Each farmer has a very small area of farmland for coffee (fewer than 2 hectares, or 5 acres on average), and sells cherries to SOPACDI through the organization's 10 collection subgroups.

Joachim Munganga, who was a farmer himself, founded SOPACDI in 2003 by restoring a washing station in the area, which provided service and market access to the growers in these extremely remote highlands. Before he undertook this work, farmers had little to no means to transport coffee to the markets, and instead were forced to simply barter their coffee locally for food, clothing, and necessities.

At this washing station, coffee is depulped the day it is delivered, and fermented dry for 12 hours. Then it spends 12 under water before being passed through the washing canal, and then it is soaked for an additional 12 hours. The coffee is dried on raised beds under a cover of shade for 14–20 days. This particular "microstation" serves 90 producers, including 21 women.

The Colombian coffee comes from farmers growing coffee around the communities of Tablón de Gómez and Buesaco. This coffee was grown in the communities of Tablón de Goméz and Buesaco in Nariño. Our importer partner Caravela collected crops from smallholder farmers in northern Nariño with the end goal of building a coffee with dense, sweet flavors, and confection-like aromas.

Caravela has an office in the nearby town of Los Rosales, where they tasted each coffee and decided which ones would get blended to make this lot.