2018 Uganda Championship Coffee Bean Information: Discover Uganda's Premium Coffee Varieties

2018 Uganda Coffee Bean Championship Champion - Uganda TOH Champion Kawahibi/Kabeywa

Every year, the major coffee-producing countries of Africa hold a national green bean competition called "Taste of Harvest" (TOH), similar to the Cup of Excellence in Central and South America. TOH has become the stage on which the best coffees of Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Congo are discovered.

In the 2017 Taste of Harvest competition held in Uganda, "Kawacom/Kabeywa" took the championship.

Many people assume Uganda only produces Robusta, but in the Mount Elgon region of Kapchorwa province in eastern Uganda, next to Kenya, the coffee is as good as premium Kenyan lots. The "Kawacom Farmers' Group" that won the Taste of Harvest championship is based on Mount Elgon. Founded in 2000 with 5,000 farmers, it now includes more than 10,000. Individual farms are tiny, each holding between 200 and 500 coffee trees intercropped with bananas, soybeans, and other crops, averaging only 0.5 hectares. In the past, farmers processed their own fresh cherries with simple depulpers. After Kawacom built first-class washing stations, it strongly encouraged farmers to deliver cherries to central processing plants to raise quality.

The varieties Ugandan farmers grow are SL14 and SL28. The SL lines come from research and selection at Scott Laboratories. Kenyan coffee became world-famous on the strength of SL28 and SL34, which led the Ugandan government to vigorously promote and distribute SL seed to farmers. Among them, SL14 not only tastes excellent but also resists drought and can be harvested just two years after planting, making it well suited to farmers' needs.

Mount Elgon is an extinct volcano, said to have once been Africa's highest peak. Local people believe deities live on the summit, far beyond mortal reach. When the deities are pleased, rain and dew are plentiful, and the whole mountainside flourishes in lush green. The coffee gardens of Kawacom members are scattered across Mount Elgon. After volcanic activity ceased, a huge crater formed at the summit and then filled with water to become a lake. Streams flowing from that lake irrigate the crops on the slopes. In the rainy season the streams swell dramatically into spectacular waterfalls, the largest of which, the "Sipi" waterfall, plunges 200 meters.

Kawacom Cooperative was the first organization in Africa to join 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 shade management is excellent. Kawacom's washing stations use first-class equipment, centrally processing the cherries farmers deliver, with mechanical depulping performed the same day under strict washed protocols. Kawacom collects fresh cherries from nearby farmers at 9 locations, naming each according to altitude and collection point. The lot that won this season's championship was collected at "Kabeywa." The runner-up also came from Kawacom, collected at Masira. In fact, in the 2017 new season, different Kawacom lots took 7 of the top 10 places in the TOH competition, including the top three, all different batches of "Kawahibi." Remarkable.

Since 2015, Kawacom has produced not only washed coffee but also small-batch natural lots. After unqualified floating beans are removed, the cherries undergo 3 weeks of natural sun-drying, turned constantly to avoid fermentation or mold, yielding very clean, rich flavors.

This Uganda TOH champion bean was grown by farmers near Kabeywa and naturally processed at the Kawacom washing station. From the roaster:

"This bean completely changed my perception of Ugandan coffee. Compared with Ethiopian and Kenyan origins, Ugandan coffee is like a rising star on the African specialty scene. In a world where natural processing is so popular, elegant natural flavors combined with the unique character of the origin are what fascinate me most. This Ugandan coffee was the first coffee to excite me this new season. During roasting I used a lower starting heat and a slower rhythm to draw out its layered flavors. - agtron89"

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If Ugandan natural coffee's layered fruit is what caught your attention, FrontStreet Coffee's natural Huakui from Ethiopia is a natural companion. It comes from the Hambella area of Guji Sidamo, where the traditional natural process is used: ripe cherries are spread on raised beds for 21 days and turned constantly for even drying, with any defective or moldy beans removed by hand every three to five days. Given a medium-light roast, Huakui shows the gentle fermented-wine aroma, florals, citrus, and mango that made the same lot a winner at the TOH green bean competition, with honeyed sweetness, a cocoa note, a touch of spice, a full body, and a long finish.

For the cleaner, washed side of African coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe is the classic choice. It delivers the bright jasmine florals and crisp citrus acidity that define Yirgacheffe, light and elegant with a tea-like body, drinking much like a clean, refreshing glass of lemon tea.