Best of Congo Cooperatives Launches 2026 Competition & Auction – CoffeeTalk

The Best of Congo Cooperatives (BOCC) initiative, launched by African Coffee Connect and CongoAgri Platform in 2024, aims to highlight Congolese specialty coffee within the global market while benefiting local producer cooperatives. This joint effort is particularly significant given the region’s challenging coffee production environment.

The program has gained prominence with competitions held in London and Goma, culminating in its third edition set for June 2026. Over just two years, BOCC has established a reputation as a key platform for recognizing exceptional coffees and facilitating connections between producers and international buyers.

BOCC26 focuses on a curated quality competition and auction of specialty microlots, enabling importers and roasters to obtain high-scoring, fully traceable coffees, while ensuring that profits are reinvested into the producing communities. The cooperatives involved face long-standing instability yet have managed to produce coffees of outstanding quality and uniqueness. As noted by Jim Ngokwey of Optimist Traders, these cooperatives are seen as the “best-kept secret” of the coffee world. Jennifer Yeatts, speaking about the quality she has experienced over nearly a decade, emphasizes the exceptional qualities of Congolese coffees, referring to them as “complex, dynamic and vibrant,” with top lots in the 2025 competition exceeding 88 points.

For the 2026 competition, buyers can anticipate a variety of processing methods, including natural and anaerobic lots, along with certifications for Organic, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, and compliance with the EUDR. Each coffee in this edition will include detailed profiles of the farmers, locations, varietals, and processes, showcasing their contributions and focusing on inclusivity—particularly from women-led groups, young farmers, and Batwa Pygmy communities in the North and South Kivu region.

Richard Hide emphasizes the profound personal impact of supporting these farmers, who produce remarkable coffees under strenuous conditions. The BOCC26 competition represents a unique chance to source exceptional coffee while fueling the long-term sustainability and resilience of one of the world’s most overlooked coffee origins.

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