Locals in Uganda believe that God lives on Mt Elgon, far beyond where people venture, where He delivers rain to the bountiful region. These green, fertile hillsides are nearly divine territory for the production of spectacular coffees, and many are realising the potentional of these hillsides.
Kyagalanyi is just one of these entities that are making it possible for this area to thrive, and for smallholders to participate in specialty markets. They operate 3 sustainable Arabica washing stations in Uganda - with the largest located on Mt Elgon. A key area that is covered by this is Manafwa, where some 2508 smallholder producers deliver cherries for this particular lot.
During harvest, Kyagalanyi encourages producers to deliver their cherries to the wet mill, instead of hand pulping back in the farm. This allows increased control over processing, as it tends to be challenging in the region with its rain matching the harvesting season. The washing station manager ensures cherry quality is maintained at 95% red cherry from their producers.
All cherries are pulped on the same day and separated by weight into two classes. Pulped coffee is then dry-fermented for 12 hours in a dry fermentation tank. Once it's morning, the dry fermented coffee is washed by hand before 10am. Afterwards, the parchment is pre-dried on dripping racks for 24 hours, and then moved to the Manafwa greenhouse for another. As the weather conditions are not suited for drying, the parchment is transported to the foot of Mt Elgon to sun dry and be sorted by lot.
A rich and syrupy cup with the brightness of stone fruits, the coffee is layered with the deep sweetness of plums, prunes, and red dates for a smooth, lingering finish.
Recommended to rest beans for 7-10 days from roast date before consuming.
