We’ve just paid the highest price ever recorded for a coffee from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). At the auction following the Best of Congo Cooperatives Competition 2026, we won Izuba – the competition’s top-scoring lot – with a bid of $55.50 per kilo.

It’s a new record for Congolese coffee, and one we’re especially proud of: this year’s London edition was judged in our own office.

Key takeaways

• Pact paid $55.50 per kilo for Izuba, the winning lot at the Best of Congo Cooperatives Competition 2026 – the highest price on record for a coffee from the DRC.
• Izuba is the first experimental lot from the growers at Yetu Qahwah, made using anaerobic fermentation, with tasting notes of caramel and honey and a cognac-like finish.
• The winning bid landed after a fierce contest of 63 other bids, at almost double the previous record for Congolese coffee.
• This year’s auction drew buyers from across Europe, North America and Asia, with more roasters and traders taking part than in any previous year.
• Izuba joins the Pact menu as a very special limited edition in 2027.

What did Pact pay for the record-breaking Congolese coffee?

We paid $55.50 per kilo for Izuba – as far as we know, the most anyone has ever paid for a coffee from the DRC.

That figure came at the end of a real bidding war. There were 63 other bids before ours, from roasters and traders around the world, and the final price landed at almost double the previous record for a Congolese coffee.

Prices at speciality-coffee auctions are paid on the green (unroasted) coffee, and every extra dollar per kilo flows back toward the people who grew it.

For an origin that has spent years being undervalued, that’s a significant increase in value for coffee – and we’ll come to why further down.

What is Izuba, and who grew it?

Izuba is the coffee that won the Best of Congo Cooperatives Competition 2026, and it’s a first in more ways than one.

It’s the very first experimental lot from the growers at Yetu Qahwah, and it’s the DRC’s first anaerobic coffee.

That word – ‘anaerobic’ – is the key to what makes it special. Anaerobic fermentation means the coffee cherries are fermented in sealed, oxygen-free tanks before the beans are dried.

Cutting off the oxygen slows fermentation right down and gives the growers close control over it, which can draw out cleaner and more intense flavours than traditional methods.

It’s a technique still rare across Africa, and rarer still in the DRC – which makes what the Yetu Qahwah team achieved on their first attempt all the more remarkable.

It wasn’t only a technical experiment, either. The growers took it on partly as a way to create more value from every kilo of coffee, in a region where getting coffee to market is genuinely hard.

Izuba is proof of what’s possible when skill and ambition meet the right audience.

What does Izuba taste like?

Judges from across the world praised Izuba for its vibrant character: caramel and honey up front, with a cognac-like finish that gives it real depth and length.

It’s the kind of layered, expressive cup that anaerobic fermentation does so well when it’s handled with care – and it more than earns its place among the finest coffees the DRC has produced.

What is the Best of Congo Cooperatives Competition?

The Best of Congo Cooperatives Competition is a social-impact initiative built to put DRC coffee on the world stage – and to make sure the country earns more for it.

When we first wrote about it, co-operatives from the Lake Kivu region went head to head, submitting their finest lots to be cupped and scored by expert panels. Since then it’s grown fast.

We run it alongside partners, including African Coffee Connect and M-Cultivo, whose platform hosted this year’s auction, together with a group of fellow roasters we’re proud to stand with.

This year’s London judging took place in our own office, and the auction that followed sold every lot on the block.

The event has grown quickly, too. This year’s auction drew buyers from three continents and a far bigger field of roasters and traders than any year before – a sign that the wider industry is finally paying the DRC the attention it deserves.

That reach is a big part of why Izuba climbed to a record price: the more serious buyers in the room, the more we compete for the very best lots.

Why does a record price for Congolese coffee matter?

For a long time, coffee from the DRC has been one of the industry’s best-kept secrets – brilliant beans grown in difficult conditions, too often sold for far less than they’re worth.

Growers in the Kivu region contend with real hardship, plus a lack of access to international markets, and a great deal of the country’s coffee has historically left through informal routes that pay growers very little.

A record price does something concrete about that. It puts more money directly in the hands of the growers who earned it, and it sends a signal to the wider market that DRC coffee belongs in the same conversation as the world’s most celebrated origins.

One outstanding lot won’t fix everything on its own – but it moves the ceiling.

When can I try Izuba?

Izuba joins the Pact menu as a very special limited edition in 2027.

In the meantime, our current coffees from the Lake Kivu region are a lovely way to discover what the DRC does best.

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FAQs

How much did Pact pay for Izuba?

Pact paid $55.50 per kilo for Izuba at the Best of Congo Cooperatives Competition 2026 auction – the highest price on record for a coffee from the DRC.

Is Izuba the most expensive Congolese coffee ever?

Yes. The winning bid of $55.50 per kilo is the highest ever paid for a coffee from the DRC, at almost double the previous record for the origin.

Who grew Izuba?

Izuba was produced by the growers at Yetu Qahwah in the DRC, as their first experimental, anaerobic-fermentation lot.

What does Izuba taste like?

Izuba has notes of caramel and honey with a cognac-like finish – the vibrant, layered character that won over judges internationally.

When will Izuba be available from Pact?

Izuba joins the Pact menu as a limited edition in 2027.