About This Coffee
Bugisu is a name for washed Arabica coffee produced in Eastern Uganda. Produced on the volcanic slopes of Mt. Elgon, Bugisu is in high demand for its winey, fruity, traditionally East African cupping notes.
Cultivation
The farm structure in Uganda is similar to Ethiopia and Kenya. Since 85% of all coffee grown is cultivated by smallholders with fewer than 2.5 hectares, Uganda has an immense potential to produce high-quality, small-lot specialty coffees.
Most producers are small and cultivate fewer than 2.5 hectares. Like Ethiopia, Ugandan smallholders typically intercrop their coffee with traditional food crops. Banana trees provide both shade for coffee trees and food for families.
Coffee flowers an average of twice per year. Yields remain low due to a lack of inputs and knowledge on proper growing practices.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Due to their small size, almost all labor is done by the family. Farming families selectively handpick ripe cherry and pulp it with hand pulpers. New initiatives are underway to make eco-friendly integrated pulping systems more widely available. Coffee is fermented and then washed in clean water. Parchment is then laid to dry on patios or raised beds.
About Peaberries
PB stands for peaberry. Peaberry is a name given to a very specific shape of coffee bean. In Spanish, peaberries are called “caracol”, which means “snail”. The name aptly describes the shape of the peaberry bean, which appears slightly curved in on itself.
Peaberries are the result of a natural mutation in the coffee cherry. Whereas there are usually two beans nestled together in each fruit, a cherry with a peaberry mutation only forms one bean. Thus, peaberries are a single, rounder bean.
Peaberry mutations occur in approximately 5% of all coffee. The beans are known for being rounder, smaller and denser, which can contribute to a more even roast color when handled correctly. Many people find peaberries to have a sweeter flavor profile, as well.
Since peaberries are a natural mutation that is not visible from the outside of the cherry, peaberries must be sorted out during the screen grading stage of dry milling. The peaberry screens have the smallest holes, which are oblong to allow the rounder beans to fall through.
Coffee in Uganda
Uganda is the native home to one species of Robusta, and commercial coffee production in the country goes back to the beginning of the 20th century.
Our partner, UGACOF/Sucafina Uganda is committed to improving quality in Uganda by building new washing stations and infrastructure and training personnel in the region. Collaborations with our FarmerHub program and our sustainability partner, the Kahawatu Foundation, are building upon our work to expand farmers’ access to better resources and better training. Our connections to our more established operations in nearby Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya offer us advice and a perspective steeped in a familiarity with East Africa.
The bulk of our work in Uganda is focused in the West, near the Rwenzori Mountains. The biggest difference between East (Mount Elgon) and West (Rwenzori) is that Mount Elgon is a more established and competitive market. We are excited to be at the forefront of the drive for enhancing coffee production infrastructure, developing the industry and becoming reliable partners for farmers in the Rwenzori Mountain region.
It is clear to us that the potential in this region might exceed our expectations and even the potential of the popular Mount Elgon region. With an ever-growing demand for high quality Arabicas and a sustained interest from roasters and coffee drinkers in the East African origins, we are very confident that, with diligence and effort, Western Ugandan coffees will be able to take their place alongside the other great East African coffees.