Uganda Bugisu-Organic Grown

Bugisu, around Mt. Elgon, belongs to the Bugisu tribe, native to the mountain’s northwestern districts and who, during the final years of British colonialism, became entwined with agricultural politics through the formation of Uganda’s strongest coffee cooperative union. The Bugisu Cooperative Union was officially formed in 1954 after decades of struggle with British and European authority over control of the coffee on Mt. Elgon—considered Uganda’s best by far.

Farmers across Mt. Elgon for years have been (and still are) accustomed to rudimentary home processing techniques. The vast majority of coffee coming off the mountain is pulped in tiny batches, often on borrowed equipment, and fermented in a bucket or a nylon bag prior to being tarp-dried on the ground, or at best on a mesh screen a few inches above the patio.

“Bugisu” has remained a prideful mark of smallholder coffee from the western slope of Mt. Elgon. Kawacom, one of Uganda’s top exporters, invests heavily in the potential of this area and keeps the Bugisu history alive in their profiles. Kawacom has long managed a multi-pronged quality operation focused in this area, referred to as the Sipi Falls Coffee Project. The project includes a centralized wet mill that buys cherry directly from local farms (which we also carry, under the name “Sipi Falls”), as well as traceable purchasing of home-processed parchment coffee from thousands of smallholders across the Kapchorwa, Bulambuli and Kween districts on Mt. Elgon.

In this coffee we taste notes of Bakers Chocolate, Black Pepper, Cedar.

Dark Roast

Bold Body/Low Acidity