{"id":122,"date":"2026-07-05T11:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T09:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lamaison-soleil.com\/cooperative-soleil-du-cavally\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T11:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T09:17:09","slug":"cooperative-soleil-du-cavally","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lamaison-soleil.com\/en\/cooperative-soleil-du-cavally\/","title":{"rendered":"Soleil du Cavally \u2014 C\u00f4te d’Ivoire"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Maison Soleil’s first partner already carries a promise of warmth in its name. In the Cavally loop, in the heart of western C\u00f4te d’Ivoire, robusta is not a second-class variety: it is a coffee of character, deep and resilient.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The cooperative<\/h2>\n

Soleil du Cavally<\/strong> was founded in 2015 in the Man region, in western C\u00f4te d’Ivoire. It brings together 210 producers<\/strong> around a simple project: proving that a robusta grown, dried and roasted with care can rival the most celebrated arabicas.<\/p>\n

Since its creation, the cooperative has been led by Jean-Baptiste Kouassi<\/strong>, a former technician with C\u00f4te d’Ivoire’s Conseil Caf\u00e9-Cacao. His technical expertise and local network enabled Soleil du Cavally to build stable, quality production year after year. He is the person Camille Vasseur, our Head of Sourcing, knew from her trading years in Antwerp; it was around that connection that the Maison Soleil project began to take shape.<\/p>\n

The terroir<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Region<\/strong> : Cavally loop, Man area, western C\u00f4te d’Ivoire<\/li>\n
  • Altitude<\/strong> : 400 to 600 m (lowland robusta)<\/li>\n
  • Variety<\/strong> : robusta, improved Gu\u00e9hi\u00e9bly clone<\/li>\n
  • Process<\/strong> : natural, dried on raised African beds<\/li>\n
  • Number of producers<\/strong> : 210<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Unlike high-altitude arabicas, robusta thrives on warm land and more modest altitudes. The Cavally loop, with its humid climate and fertile soils, suits it perfectly. The Gu\u00e9hi\u00e9bly<\/strong>clone, developed locally, offers a good balance of yield, disease resistance and aromatic potential.<\/p>\n

    The coffee’s journey<\/h2>\n

    The harvest runs from October to March. The cherries are picked, sorted, then spread on raised African beds<\/strong> for controlled natural drying. This natural process amplifies the body and woody notes of the robusta, while softening the bitterness sometimes unfairly associated with this variety.<\/p>\n

    The coffee then travels by road to the port of Abidjan, then by cargo ship to Marseille. Thomas Reinach gives it a dark roast<\/strong> : slow and progressive, to develop the bitter cocoa and cedar wood aromas without burning the bean’s oils.<\/p>\n

    Our partnership<\/h2>\n

    Soleil du Cavally is Maison Soleil’s founding partner. The contract was signed in April 2021, the very month Sunshine Corp was created. It was a bold choice: launching a specialty coffee brand with a robusta from C\u00f4te d’Ivoire was far from consensual. But the quality of the lot and the strength of the relationship won people over.<\/p>\n

    This partnership also proved its strategic value in 2023-2024, when the El Ni\u00f1o-driven Robusta crisis sent world prices soaring. Our floor-price contract, indexed to 2021 + 30%, allowed us to secure volumes while many spot-dependent buyers faced shortages.<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Partner since<\/strong> : April 2021<\/li>\n
    • 2025 volume<\/strong> : 30 tonnes\/year (the largest volume among our five partners)<\/li>\n
    • Main use<\/strong> : single origin C\u00f4te d’Ivoire \u2014 Soleil du Cavally<\/em> and robusta base of the blend Cors\u00e9 du Vieux Port<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      In the cup<\/h2>\n

      The C\u00f4te d’Ivoire \u2014 Soleil du Cavally<\/strong> is a coffee of character, made for espresso and moka pot. It offers dense body, generous crema and well-managed bitterness.<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Tasting notes<\/strong> : bitter cocoa, cedar wood, blond tobacco<\/li>\n
      • Intensity<\/strong> : 8 \/ 10<\/li>\n
      • Roast<\/strong> : dark<\/li>\n
      • Certification<\/strong> : direct trade<\/li>\n
      • Available formats<\/strong> : 250 g and 1 kg (whole bean and ground)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        This is the coffee for those who like a frank wake-up call and a cup that stands tall.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Le premier partenaire de Maison Soleil porte d\u00e9j\u00e0, dans son nom, une promesse de chaleur. Dans la boucle du Cavally, au c\u0153ur de l’ouest ivoirien, le robusta n’est pas une vari\u00e9t\u00e9 de seconde zone : c’est un caf\u00e9 de caract\u00e8re, profond et r\u00e9silient. La coop\u00e9rative Soleil du Cavally a \u00e9t\u00e9 fond\u00e9e en 2015 dans la […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-122","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lamaison-soleil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lamaison-soleil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lamaison-soleil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lamaison-soleil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lamaison-soleil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lamaison-soleil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/122\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lamaison-soleil.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}