Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe Autumn Sakura Coffee Bean Origin Story Introduction_Is Sun-Dried Yirgacheffe Autumn Sakura Coffee Delicious

According to a report published by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) in December 2020, Uganda exported a total of 5,492,525 bags of coffee in 2020 (each bag weighing 60 kg), worth $515.94 million. In 2019 the country's total exports came to 4,519,563 bags, valued at $436.54 million. The figures show that Uganda's coffee exports rose 22% year on year in 2020, while total value grew 18%.

In December 2020 alone, Uganda exported 422,922 bags worth $37.78 million. Robusta accounted for 375,209 bags ($30.87 million), and Arabica for 47,713 bags ($6.92 million). Compared with the same month a year earlier, export volume was up 28.06% and total value up 9.42%.

Robusta made up 88.72% of Uganda's December 2020 exports, up from 86.50% in November 2020. On price, Robusta averaged $1.37 per kilogram in December, unchanged from November, while Arabica averaged $2.42 per kilogram, 20 cents higher than in November 2020.

According to UCDA data, Uganda's 2020 coffee exports were the highest in the country's history. The authority's latest figures point to a steady recovery in the crop, with export volumes climbing from 3.557 million bags in fiscal year 2016 to 5.493 million bags in fiscal year 2020, an increase of roughly 64.7%. That marks the highest volume of coffee Uganda has exported in the past 30 years.

Ugandan regulators attribute the 2020 growth to higher production as newly planted coffee trees came into bearing. COVID-19 also had little effect on the country, and many European nations imposed no major restrictions on shipments from Uganda. Other coffee-producing countries were affected by the pandemic to varying degrees, which weighed on their own exports and in turn created additional demand for Ugandan coffee in 2020, driving continued growth in volumes.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Uganda's record export year is a reminder of how much of African coffee's character comes down to origin. If you want to taste that character in its purest form, the classic starting point is FrontStreet's washed Yirgacheffe, a daily-drinker Ethiopian single origin known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a clean tea-like body. Yirgacheffe is a town in southern Ethiopia, inside the Sidamo zone, where coffee grows at roughly 1,700-2,100 meters, with the trees themselves planted above 1,800 meters, making it one of the highest coffee-growing regions in the world.

For something more expressive, FrontStreet also carries the washed Gedingding cooperative coffee from Worka, at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe, and the Red Cherry natural. Gedingding was originally part of the Worka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union (YCFCU) before becoming a single-origin lot in its own right, and its washed processing keeps the cup bright and precise. The Red Cherry natural is made from fully ripe, defect-free fruit that is dried whole on raised beds for three to five weeks, turned every two to three hours in the first few days, and it delivers citrus acidity, juicy berry, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy body. Both are easy to brew: a V60 at 90-91°C, 15 g of coffee to 225 g of water (1:15), ground about as fine as granulated sugar.