Uganda Kulambula Anoxic Honey
Uganda is one of Africa’s biggest exporters of coffee, both Arabica and Robusta. Bugisu is a sub-region of Eastern Uganda and is home to Mt Elgon, the world’s biggest free-standing volcano. The mainly Arabica coffee grown in this area is typically grown on the slopes of the mountain at high altitudes. Washed Uganda Arabica (sometimes known as Wugar) are described as having a rich full body which is balanced with citric flavour notes.
Traceability
Country – Uganda
Region – Bulambuli, Mt. Elgon
Producer – Smallholder farmers supplying to Kwigate Washing Station, exported by Darley Investments.
Altitude – 1600- 2100 masl
Specifics – Darley Investments is a green coffee exporter based in Kampala, Uganda. We visited them in February 2024, to see their facilities, and also to head out into the field and meet the farmers and producers. Darley has a dry mill in Kampala where they grade and prepare coffees for export, and a drying station in Busoba, where they prepare some of their naturals before milling.
The word Kulambula best translates from the Ugandan language Luganda to the English “to explore”. We felt this was an accurate use of the word as there was a definite project behind this coffee.
Given the very wet climatic backdrop of an El Niño year in East Africa, we were looking for ways to achieve subtle anaerobic flavours becoming more and more desirable around the world, whilst also drying this coffee in the most time efficient way due to our sun-limited context.
In 2019, producer Ben Mukhone saw an opportunity to locate a washing station in amongst some of the best coffee cherry in the mountain and this natural lot comes from 214 small holder farmers selling directly to the station.
This lot is an Anoxic Honey – cherry was fermented for 3 days in a sealed low oxygen environment, before pulping the coffee. After this the mucilage remained, and the coffee was dried as a shaded (Black) honey.
Phytology
Botanical species – Arabica
Varietal – SL14, SL28, Nyasaland
Harvest period – July – November
Process – Anoxic Honey
Screen size –
Bag Size – 60 kgs
Application Suggestion
Single Origin
Espresso
Filter
Sensory
Z00131 – Sweet, berries, raisins, green grapes, mild acidity with a creamy body
Roast
Light / Medium
Medium