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What Makes Uganda Coffee Beans Special in Roasting and Brewing?

Uganda coffee has long been perceived as relatively low-grade Robusta. In fact, Uganda also produces specialty coffee of excellent quality and competitive price. Today we share the particular character of Ugandan coffee.

Uganda sits at the source of the Nile, a landlocked country in East Africa with no coastline. Like other East African countries, it has a long history of coffee production, but quality failed to improve for years because of wars driven by ethnic conflict. Most of the high-quality coffee grows in the regions bordering Kenya, and some fine beans were once transported into Kenya and blended in with Kenyan coffee for sale. Only when the war ended about 15 years ago did Uganda emerge as a fast-developing coffee-producing country.

Uganda has dense, lush forests, abundant lakes and wetlands, and rich water resources. Coffee is its largest agricultural crop and its highest foreign-exchange earner. Roughly 500,000 coffee farms are engaged in coffee agriculture, accounting for 25% of the total population. Most coffee trees are robust Robusta varieties, about 94%, with only 6% traditional Arabica varieties. These rare beans grow in tropical rainforests and are mostly exported around the world.

Every year the major African producing countries hold a national green-bean competition called The Taste of Harvest (TOH), similar to the Cup of Excellence in Central and South America. TOH has become the arena for discovering the best coffees from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Congo.

Grading is carried out by experts and known as Q and R grading. Coffees scoring above 80 are considered specialty coffees and automatically attract good markets and better prices. The competition demonstrates that good practices can benefit farmers. As part of its mission, UCDA regularly trains farmers across the country to produce quality coffee through good processing methods. As a result, regions such as Kanungu, Sipi, Iganga, and Luwero all produce high-quality coffee.

Kikumi Sipi Falls Rwenzori Washing Station

This Uganda TOH fourth-place bean was grown by farmers near Kikumi.

In the 2017 Taste of Harvest competition held in Uganda, "Kikumi Sipi Falls Rwenzori Washing Station" won fourth place. The Rwenzori Mountain Sipi Falls washing station uses natural processing.

Many people think Uganda produces only Robusta, but in the Mount Elgon region of Kapchorwa province in eastern Uganda, bordering Kenya, the coffee is as exceptional as fine Kenyan coffee. The "Kikumi Sipi Falls Rwenzori Washing Station" that took fourth place in the Taste of Harvest is located on Mount Elgon. Established in 2000, it began with 5,000 farmers and has now expanded to more than 10,000. Individual farms are very small-scale, owning between 200 and 500 coffee trees, intercropped with other crops such as bananas and soybeans, with an average farm area of only 0.5 hectares. Previously, farmers tended to process fresh cherries themselves with crude pulping machines; after Kawacom built first-class washing stations, they strongly encouraged farmers to send cherries to central processing plants to improve quality.

The varieties grown by Ugandan farmers are SL14 and SL28. The SL varieties come from research and selection by Scott Labs. Kenyan coffee is world-famous for SL28 and SL34, so the Ugandan government vigorously promoted and distributed SL seeds to farmers. Among these, SL14 not only has an excellent flavor but also resists drought and can be harvested just two years after planting - well suited to farmers' needs.

Mount Elgon is an extinct volcano once said to be Africa's highest peak. Locals believe gods reside on the summit, far beyond mortal reach. When the gods are pleased, there is sufficient rain and dew, and the whole mountainside thrives in lush greenery. Kawacom members' coffee gardens are scattered across Mount Elgon. After volcanic activity ceased, the summit formed a huge crater that filled with water to become lakes, and the streams flowing down from it irrigate the crops on the mountainside. During the rainy season the streams swell into spectacular waterfalls; the "Sipi" falls are the largest, dropping as much as 200 meters.

The Rwenzori Mountain Sipi Falls washing station was the first organization in Africa to take part in an organic sustainability program. The "Sipi Organic Project" launched in 2002, becoming the first coffee in Africa to receive UTZ CERTIFIED certification. Compost is used as fertilizer and there is good shade. Kawacom's washing station facilities are first-class, centrally processing cherries sent by farmers; the cherries are mechanically depulped the same day, following strict washing procedures.

Uganda Coffee Bean Processing Methods

Processing Method: Natural

Uganda does not only do washed processing; it also runs micro-batch natural processing. After removing unqualified floating beans, natural drying runs for three weeks, during which the fresh cherries are constantly turned to avoid fermentation or mold, achieving a very clean and rich flavor.

Uganda Coffee Bean Analysis

Uganda varieties are SL14 and SL28.

The coffee varieties include Scott Labs Selection 14 (the most common variety in Uganda) and Selection 28 (SL14, SL28). Both are descendants of French Mission Bourbon. SL14 resists disease and drought, while SL28 is more common in Kenya.

The beans are slightly long and greenish-yellow, with considerable variation in particle size.

Uganda's grading matches Kenya's:

PB: peaberry

AA Plus-plus:

AA plus

AA: Screen 17 and 18 (Screen 17, 18 mesh = 7.2 mm)

AB: Screen 15 and 16, 6.6 mm (Screen 15, 16 mesh = 6.6 mm)

C:

E:

TT: Light beans selected from the AA and AB grades by air screening

Uganda Coffee Bean Roasting Analysis

This coffee has relatively small, dense beans, requiring more heat absorption during roasting; its Maillard reaction runs relatively fast. In the first batch of roasting, a higher drop temperature of 210°C was used. Before the beans dehydrated and turned yellow, heat was applied continuously to ensure enough thermal energy would last to the end of roasting.

Charge temperature of 200°C, with heat reduced somewhat and then gradually increased as needed during the roast. With this approach, dehydration time was extended compared with the first batch, with a temperature increase of 6-8°C every thirty seconds.

For this Uganda coffee, a smaller initial heat of 170°C and a slower roasting rhythm were used during the roast stage to express the coffee's multi-layered flavors.

Roaster: Yangjia 600 g semi-direct flame

Heat the drum to 200°C, air damper set to 3.5. After 30 seconds, adjust heat to 170°C, air damper unchanged. The return temperature point comes at 1'36'', with one heat adjustment at 168°C. At this point the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell disappears completely, and dehydration is complete. Adjust heat to 130°C, air damper to 4.

At 8'45'' ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, and the toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma - the prelude to first crack. At this time listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'07'' first crack begins: reduce heat to 80°C, air damper fully open to 5 (adjust heat with great care, not so low that there is no crackling sound). 1'50'' after first crack, drop at 198.4°C.

Cupping

Dry aroma is wine-like, with roasted melon seeds. The wet aroma carries sweet orange juice. Sipping reveals citrus, berry, and other fruit flavors, with clear and bright acidity, a smooth texture, spice, woody notes, and a complex mouthfeel.

Uganda Coffee Bean Brewing Analysis

Recommended brewing methods: siphon, pour-over.

Grind size: 3.5 (Fuji R440, Japan).

Water temperature: 89°C.

V60 dripper, 15 g of grounds, water temperature 89-90°C, grind 3.5, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15.

30 g water for bloom, bloom time 30 seconds.

Staged: pour water to 100 ml, pause, then slowly pour to 225 ml.

That is: 30-100-95.

Other drip extraction suggestions:

French press: recommended grind size 3.5-4 / water temperature 90°C.

AeroPress: recommended grind size 2.5, water temperature 88°C.

Pour-over: 3.5 grind size, water temperature 89°C.

3.5 grind - 90°C water temperature.

Grinder	Grind Size	Dose	Dripper	Water Temp	Bloom	Second Pour	Third Pour	Total Time
Fuji Mini	3.5	15g	V60	89°C	30g water 30s	100g 1:00	95g	1:50

Total water: 225g

Sweetness: 4 stars

FrontStreet Coffee is a roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but a diverse selection of beans, carrying both famous and lesser-known varieties.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Uganda's East African character - the SL varieties, the bright fruit, and the clean natural-process sweetness - is a close cousin to the coffee FrontStreet Coffee roasts from neighboring Ethiopia. If Uganda's citrus, berry, and wine-like notes appeal to you, FrontStreet's washed Yirgacheffe is the natural first stop: it delivers a clear jasmine floral note with bright citrus and lemon acidity, light and elegant, with a tea-like body that drinks like a clean, refreshing lemon tea. The roastery's Gotiti cooperative lot, graded G1, pushes the same profile further with citrus, lemon, and an elegant white floral undercurrent.

For more tropical, fruit-forward weight, FrontStreet's Flower Queen is a strong match, since it shares the Ugandan bean's bright berry and wine-like leanings. The Flower Queen comes from Guji Hambella in Sidamo, where the cherries are dried on raised beds for 21 days - turned constantly and hand-sorted every three to five days - then roasted medium-light for a light fermented wine aroma, florals, citrus, mango, honeyed sweetness, cocoa, a touch of spice, a full body, and a long finish. For a wilder, forest-grown expression, FrontStreet's Kaffa Forest coffee, grown in shade at 1,400-2,100 meters, brings white florals, bright lemon acidity, sweet orange, and bergamot with a green-tea body.

On the brewing side, the Ugandan reference recipe - a V60 at 15 g, 89-90°C, and a 1:15 ratio, poured 30-100-95 to a total of 225 g - translates directly to these Ethiopian lots. Many drinkers also find a slightly lower ratio helpful for fuller fruit, so try 1:14 or 1:13 if you want a heavier body and juicier berry character.