What is the Flavor of Ugandan Coffee? Introduction to Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains Coffee and Ugandan Coffee Characteristics

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Discovering Uganda's Premium Coffee: Rwenzori Mountains Anaerobic Natural

Uganda is often perceived as a very poor country, but today FrontStreet Coffee wants to share a premium coffee from Uganda - an anaerobic natural processed coffee from the Rwenzori Mountains. Coffee is an extremely important economic crop in Uganda. Although the production of specialty coffee is relatively limited, this doesn't prevent FrontStreet Coffee from seeking out excellent local coffee. This anaerobic natural processed coffee is one of the fine coffees discovered by FrontStreet Coffee. Through cupping and brewing, FrontStreet Coffee found that spices and nuts are the dominant notes of this coffee. Thanks to anaerobic processing, it also has fermented wine-like aromatics. The mouthfeel is rich with cream and peanuts, accompanied by soft fruit acidity, maintaining good complexity.

Uganda's Coffee Geography and History

Uganda is located at the source of the Nile River and is a landlocked country in Africa without access to the sea. Although, like other East African countries, it has a long history of coffee production, wars caused by ethnic conflicts have consistently prevented the improvement of coffee quality. Most of the fine coffee here is grown in regions bordering Kenya. Some good coffee beans were transported to Kenya and mixed with Kenyan coffee for sale. It wasn't until 15 years ago when the war stopped that Uganda emerged as a rapidly developing coffee country.

Uganda boasts dense, lush forests, lakes, and wetlands, with abundant water resources from rivers. Coffee is the largest agricultural crop in Uganda, with approximately 500,000 coffee farms engaging in coffee-related agriculture, accounting for 25% of the total population. Most coffee trees are robust, robusta coffee varieties, which account for about 94% of Uganda's coffee cultivation. Only 6% are traditional arabica varieties. These rare coffee beans grow in tropical rainforests and are mostly exported to countries worldwide.

In Uganda, coffee exports account for 20% of the national GDP, making it the most important export product. However, most of it is lower quality robusta coffee in the international market. On the world specialty coffee map, Uganda's presence is rarely seen, while countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania are much more prominent. Due to geographical factors, arabica coffee can only be grown on the slopes of the eastern and southwestern regions. In fact, as early as 200 years ago, arabica coffee trees were introduced to eastern Uganda from Ethiopia. In the Mbale (eastern) region, coffee cultivation has a long history, with almost every household having coffee trees. However, in the past, middlemen would come to the community to purchase coffee, regardless of quality, at a single price that fluctuated with the market. Farmers had no incentive to cooperate in growing better coffee beans.

The Rwenzori Mountains: Coffee Growing Region

The Rwenzori Mountains (Mt Rwenzori) have the beautiful reputation of being the "Mountains of the Moon" and are located in western Uganda, serving as the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Coffee is Uganda's main economic crop, accounting for 95% of Uganda's total exports.

Processing Method

After the coffee cherries ripen, they are all hand-picked, soaked in fermentation tanks for fermentation processing, and then dried.

FrontStreet Coffee Green Bean Analysis

This bean is composed of SL14 and SL28, both of which are quite common varieties in Uganda! SL varieties come from the research and selection of Scott Lab. Kenyan coffee became world-famous because of SL28 and SL34, so the Ugandan government vigorously promoted and distributed SL seeds to farmers. Among them, SL14 not only has excellent flavor but also possesses drought resistance, and can be harvested just two years after planting, which quite meets the needs of farmers. The green beans appear uneven in size, with a yellow-green color, and smell like grass when smelled.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

Roasting machine: Yangjia 800N (Roasting amount: 300g)

Charge into the drum at 160℃, heat at 100%, damper opened to 3; Return temperature at 1'34", when drum temperature reaches 140℃, open damper to 4, heat unchanged; When drum temperature reaches 144.7℃, the bean surface turns yellow, grass smell completely disappears, entering the dehydration stage. When drum temperature reaches 166℃, adjust heat to 80, damper unchanged; At 8'46", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast smell clearly turns to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 9'37", first crack begins, open damper to 5, develop for 1'45" after first crack, discharge at 198℃.

Agtron bean color value is 68.4 (left image), Agtron ground color value is 75.9 (right image), Roast Delta value is 7.5.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Notes

Cocoa, cream, licorice, preserved fruit

Uganda Rwenzori Mountains Anaerobic Natural

Country: Uganda

Region: Rwenzori Mountains

Altitude: 1600-1800 meters

Processing Method: Anaerobic Natural Processing

Varieties: SL14 & SL28

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Analysis

Dripper: V60

Water Temperature: 90℃

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Medium-fine grind, approximately granulated sugar thickness (BG 6L: 80% pass rate through China standard #20 sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Method

Segmented extraction. Use 35g of water for bloom for 25 seconds. When pouring in circles to 130g, segment the extraction. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 227g and stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from bloom) Extraction time is 1'50".

Flavor

It smells with a light fermented aroma, and tastes of cocoa, cream, peanuts, and soft fruit acidity.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473