Island in Lake Kivu, about 70 km long, where roughly 2,100 growers sell local Bourbon-line arabica washed at micro washing stations.
Idjwi is an island in Lake Kivu, about 340 km2 and 70 km long, and the second-largest lake island in Africa. Coffee began here in the 1940s under Belgian rule, from local Bourbon strains. During the wars of 1996-2002 growers smuggled it to Rwanda by canoe. The CPNCK cooperative made its first full-container export in 2013 and has about 2,100 grower members. Cherry goes to micro washing stations and dries on platforms for about two weeks. The island has no grid power, so stations run on generators, and coffee travels by pirogue.
Field notes
- i
In 2017 farmers sold the cooperative an average of 480 kg each, and it exports about 15 percent of the island's potential.
- ii
Cooperative cuppings are reported as consistently above 85 points.
Varietals
Processing
Sources · 3 Every sentence here was checked against a source we read. Taste notes are what guides describe, not promises about your bag. Last revised 2026-11-10. Some details here are less settled than others.
- On an Island in the DRC's Lake Kivu, Coffee Begins to Bear Economic Fruit · Daily Coffee News
- Idjwi · Wikipedia
- The Revival of Arabica Coffee in Eastern DRC · Rikolto