About this coffee
In an uncharacteristically optimistic move, we have had a Uganda label in stock for over 3 years now after tasting a couple great coffees that never materialized. Finally we get to blow the dust off and launch a new origin we have been eyeing for years. Uganda is the birthplace of the robusta species of coffee, and remains its largest exporter in Africa, but there is a growing presence of arabica nestled along the mountains bordering the DRC, Kenya and Rwanda. This particular lot comes from Nyabirongo, nestled in the southern slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains in western Uganda, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo. Bakanzo smallholders cultivate SL14 and SL28, varieties you may recognize as being predominantly found in Kenyan coffee. The SLs, SL28 in particular, are very susceptible to CBD and nematodes, have low yields, but have the potential to produce stellar cups, making them a high-risk high-reward proposition to grow. Smallholders deliver ripe cherries to the Nyabirongo factory where they are sun-dried on raised African beds, providing us the chance to have a stellar natural processed SL28, something we do not often experience with Kenyan SL28 almost exclusively being washed.
