DR Congo Muungano

Blind Assessment: Richly sweet-tart, earth-toned. Blood orange, pipe tobacco, roasted almond, rhododendron, baking chocolate in aroma and cup. Tart-leaning structure with crisp, green-apple-like (malic) acidity; deep, velvety mouthfeel. The richly drying finish consolidates to blood orange and pipe tobacco.

Notes: This coffee tied for the fourth-highest rating in a cupping of “desert-island coffees” submitted by roasters for Coffee Review’s May 2020 tasting report. Muungano, the name of this cooperative, means “togetherness” in Swahili. One-third of the coop’s members are women, many of whom were widowed by war. Produced entirely from trees of strains of the Bourbon variety of Arabica and processed by the washed method (fruit skin and pulp are removed before drying). Certified organic. An integral part of New York’s coffee renaissance, Brooklyn-based Café Grumpy opened its first café in 2005 and has since expanded to 10 locations in New York, including a roasting facility, and one in Miami. Visit www.cafegrumpy.com or call 718-383-0748 for more information.

The Bottom Line : A complexly structured DR Congo cup with high-pitched acidity at one end and deep-dive tobacco notes at the other, nuanced by a throughline of vanilla-like florals.