Congo Kivu Hutwe
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of you! I only know a few Irish Americans that celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, but it sure is important if you have school age children. Wear green or get pinched was the deal when I was a child, and it seems to still hold today–although the pinching is certainly discouraged. We’ve had years as a family when we’ve forgotten altogether, but today we all managed to wear green. And I’m sure that corned beef and cabbage will be on the menu tonight, in some form. One year we grilled the cabbage, which was simply delicious.
Lunch with a view while skiing
Last weekend we celebrated my daughter turning ten with a weekend in Lake Tahoe. Winter is her favorite season, and she loves snow, so the colossal amount of precipitation we’ve had this year was right up her alley. We spent both days skiing, for only the second time in her life, and she said it was the best birthday ever.
Yesterday I got to take my son and his classmates rock climbing in the Auburn Quarry. I’d never been there before, but boy was it beautiful. It was almost otherworldly with the new spring grass growing in the crevices of the rock, and the walls rising moist and gray around us. Cliff swallows and crows circled overhead, and some intrepid Canada geese have made nests on the rocks–and kept talking to us loudly.
The Auburn Quarry was beautiful too
From snowy Tahoe to sunny Auburn, our local vistas are beautiful. This week’s coffee comes from a completely different area: the mountains of east Congo. This is our Congo Kivu Hutwe, and it’s a delicious fruity bean. It’s grown in the area north of Lake Kivu, a large lake on the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. Lake Kivu is formed on a rift valley, in a seismically active area. Nyamuragira is Africa’s most active volcano, which is just north of Lake Kivu. Coffee loves this volcanic soil.
This coffee comes from small farmers who come together to process their coffee at the Hutwe washing station, in Virunga. This is a local cultivar of arabica, fully washed, with a great fruity taste in the cup. It is reminiscent of stone fruit and melon–sweeter than many other African beans. If you have liked our Rwandan offerings over the years, you will love this Congo bean.
You can try a cup of this coffee on us this week with the code local beauty*. I know that the first day of spring is Monday, and while ‘m sure that spring is beautiful everywhere, we are certainly privileged to experience it in this area. A whole week of sunshine was sure appreciated, and I can only hope that next week is just as nice. Enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day, and drink good coffee. Cheers!
–Holly Fike
*Code good for one free 12 ounce cup of Congo Kivu Hutwe. Code expires on 3.24.17. Limit one free cup per customer please. Valid only at Carolines Coffee Roasters, 128 S. Auburn Street, Grass Valley, CA. Code/Offer has no cash value.