According to a 2021 US Dept. of Agriculture report, robusta made up approximately 85% of Ugandan coffee production, grown at various elevations throughout the country. Indigenous to Uganda, coffea canephora was first—and still is—cultivated near the Lake Victoria crescent, where clay-rich soil nurtures the coffee. Polyculture is big in Uganda. Oftentimes, robusta is planted alongside bananas, peanuts, sorghum, sweet potatoes, and more. This ensures harvests overlap, creating food security, crop diversity, and shade cover that lower grade robusta doesn’t receive.
Our Ugandan Fine Robusta is bold yet complex, with lower levels of salt and more pronounced acidity than typical robusta. Common flavor notes include berries, stone fruit, molasses, coriander, and walnut. In line with other African coffees, a dark-roasted fine robusta will produce a luscious, foamy crema. Ugandan Fine Robusta makes an ideal base for café drinks. Its intense flavor mellows out when melded with milk and microfoam, but it doesn’t get lost in the mix.
]]>Coffee farmers in Bungoma County typically manage smaller lots of relatively few trees compared to Ethiopia, with an average of 200 trees each on their 25- to 250-acre farms. Don’t let their smaller size fool you, Bungoma County’s prominence in coffee is burgeoning, producing exceptional coffees like our Kenya AA. With notes of peach blossom, orange zest, and black tea, this large-bean brew is less acidic than other African coffees, which gives it wine-like brilliance.
Volcanic Mt. Elgon, though extinct, provides both Ugandan and Kenyan farmers with fertile, high-elevation soil for planting coffee. During the harvest season (October – August), coffee is picked and transported to nearby cooperative wet mills. This proximity increases farmers’ production capacity, all while being entirely traceable.
Our Kenya AA and Dark Kenya AA are wet processed and dried in the sun on raised beds. During wet processing coffee beans are soaked in water for up to 36 hours before being washed and spread out on raised beds to dry. True to African tradition, all coffees are dried on raised beds, which are specialized beds made of wood, wire, and plastic netting that promote airflow.
We loved Kenya AA’s citrusy, floral flavor so much that we took it one step further into dark roast territory. Our Dark Kenya AA coffee is a rich and sweet dark roast with savory floral notes and balanced acidity at a deeper roast level. The body of this coffee is extra bold but also bright, allowing for the tell-tale fruit and wine-like flavors of our wet-processed Dark Kenyan coffee to shine through.
]]>Thought to be the true origin of the coffee plant, Ethiopia has the perfect conditions for coffee growing. Its namesake Heirloom varietal grows wild in rainforests that provide the cherries with essential canopy cover. Our Ethiopian coffee comes from two places in Ethiopia: the Oromia Region and the Gedeo Zone.
The Sidama Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union (SCFCU) in Dire K’alu, Oromia Region, Ethiopia, was established to represent producers throughout Southern Ethiopia. It is now the second-largest cooperative union in Ethiopia, with 80,000 farmers in its ranks as of 2013. Our Fair Trade Organic Ethiopian Sidamo is sourced from family farms around the Shoye Cooperative. Grown around 2,000 masl (meters above sea level), this coffee is sweet and complex. Our limited-release Guji Wubanchi is a landrace coffee grown similarly high up in Mesina, with mouthwatering notes of key lime, green apple, and hibiscus.
In the Gedeo Zone grows our Organic Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, a sweet and mild coffee. With hints of bright citruses like sweet tangerine and lime, the acidity level is powerful and bright, while the cup finishes with a dry, lemon tea finish. The Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers’ Cooperatives Union (YCFCU) is composed of 13 member organizations who were exploited by the government around 2002. Despite bankruptcy, the ‘90s coffee crisis, and member hesitancy, the YCFCU reemerged. Their focus lies in sustainable coffee advancement and improving member farmers’ standard of living.
Of our six Ethiopian offerings, Sidamo Guji is the only coffee that’s processed naturally, meaning the coffee beans are dried inside their cherries. This process imparts more syrupy and sweet flavors in the final cup. The rest (aside from Organic Sidamo’s Water Process) are all fully washed. Fully washed is typical of high-quality coffee. Washed coffee is all about the seed, not the cherry. Most specialty coffees are washed because this process gives the most true-to-origin experience, as the mucilage can impart syrupy flavors if left intact during processing. In line with African tradition, all coffees are dried on raised beds, which are specialized beds made of wood, chicken wire, and plastic netting that promote airflow.
To preserve the eclectic, wine-like flavors of coffee’s motherland, we crafted our Ethiopian roast profiles on the lighter side.
To preserve the unique flavors of coffee’s motherland, we typically roast our Ethiopian coffees lighter, which highlights their juicy fruit and creamy notes. Ethiopian coffees are lauded for their wine-like brilliance and pleasant acidity, consistently ranking at the top of most Q grader’s cupping forms. At the same time, however, Ethiopian coffee is very versatile, so it tastes great at most roast levels, as is the case with our FTO Yirgacheffe and Dark Yirgacheffe Kochere. A little Maillard flavor gives the coffees’ naturally sweet and delicate notes a deep, honeyed undertone like a cordial cherry or caramelized fruit.
]]>Following a militia occupation in Kivu, Virunga Coffee Company was formed to restore operations and improve Kivu’s production capacity and quality. Virunga has implemented eco- and socio-positive programs that serve to educate and train Congolese farmers, such as agronomist-overseen tree planting, public disease prevention, and farming equipment discounts and incentives.
With coffee as its catalyst, the company’s vision for Kivu expands well beyond the growing fields. Education, mosquito net distribution, daycare for coffee workers’ children, school supplies, and IT training are among Virunga’s plans for the bright future for Kivu.
Virunga has established seven washing stations throughout Kivu, which helps facilitate further change, such as organic certification and higher premiums.
The benefits of organic certification for the producers and the roasters are huge. Certification gives access to markets otherwise unavailable, better pricing, and eligibility for grants and financial assistance, among other things.
Our Organic Congo Kivu coffee is distinctly zesty and vibrant. As a light roast, this coffee is both sweet and herbaceous with a syrupy body and a blood orange zest finish. The full-bodied flavor of Congo Kivu coffee fills the palate and is sure to be a favorite for any light roast coffee lover.
]]>Our Organic Rwanda is grown in the Karongi District of western Rwanda by 800 smallholders who pooled their crops, resources, and knowledge together to form the cooperative Kopaki. To better process and export their coffee, Kopaki joined the Misozi group of coops, with whom they share the values of transparency and fairness throughout the production process. Both Misozi and Kopaki are proudly certified organic and Fair Trade, adding yet another layer of quality to their already impeccable coffee.
Misozi and Kopaki are certified Fair Trade and organic, which is great for the community in Rwanda and for consumers all over the world. These certifications translate to quality, environmental stewardship, and fair wages. The benefits of organic certification for the producers and the roasters are huge. Certification gives access to markets that might be otherwise unavailable, premium pricing, and eligibility for grants and financial assistance. Fair Trade also ensures fair financial compensation for their coffee, with a minimum Fair Trade market price plus up to a 20¢ premium per pound.
Our Rwandan coffee is fully washed and sun-dried on raised beds. Fully washed is typical of high-quality coffee. Washed coffee is all about the seed, not the cherry. Most specialty coffees are washed because this process gives the most true-to-origin experience, as the mucilage can impart syrupy flavors if left intact during processing. After washing and fermentation, the coffee is dried on raised beds, which are specialized beds made of wood, chicken wire, and plastic netting that promote airflow.
While African coffees are versatile, we love to keep as many origin flavors intact as possible, so, naturally, we feel a light roast fits our Rwanda best. The cup quality is extremely smooth, with sparkling acidity and a plush mouthfeel. Notes of zesty citrus and tropical fruits are prominent, with a sweet brown sugar finish.
]]>In this region grows bright, floral coffees with notes of juicy, tropical fruit, but what’s most interesting is the bean itself: the peaberry. This particular mutation is a rarity that breeds coffee cherries with only one bean inside instead of the usual two—only 5% - 10% of any given yield could be peaberries. The Mbeya region is responsible for producing the largest amount of Tanzanian Peaberry coffee in Tanzania.
According to the Tanzania Coffee Board, approximately 450,000 families grow coffee—10% of Tanzania’s coffee production come from estates. Coffee in the Mbeya Region typically grows alongside bananas and accounts for 70% of the country’s total exports. The banana trees’ large leaves provide shade for the coffee plants, which is essential on particularly sunny days.
It’s believed that, because there’s only one seed per cherry, peaberries absorb all the nutrients available. It sounds greedy, but it makes for a tasty cup. That is, if they’re roasted correctly. At Fresh Roasted Coffee, we do Tanzania justice with a perfectly crafted light roast. This keeps the origin notes of lemon, peach, and black tea intact, exactly the way this coffee should be enjoyed. Wonderfully smooth and full-bodied, this coffee boasts distinct aromatics, defining fruity flavor, medium acidity, and a lively finish. The taste is as awesome as the bean.
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