JUNE 2024 DISCOVERY COFFEE

UGANDA | Bukonzo Dream

PLUM, MAPLE SYRUP

REGION | Rwenzori Mountains

PROCESS | Natural

SPECIES | Arabica 

VARIETY | SL14, SL28

ALTITUDE | 1800-2000 MASL

ABOUT BUKONZO DREAM

This Bukonzo Dream comprises cherries from the farmers in a small trading centre named Kituei, near the Kasese District in the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda.

The lot consists of contributions from around 500 smallholder farmers dotted across the mountain range. Cherries are harvested and collected from local buying centres, after which they are transported to a washing station at Nyabirongo. They are sorted and floated to remove under and over ripe cherries and then dried on raised beds for 3-4 weeks, with regular turning to ensure consistent fermentation.

Finally, the coffee is hulled, graded, and bagged. As a natural processed coffee, the Bukonzo Dream always varies depending on the region the cherries come from, and changes season-to-season. They always feature a vibrant fruitiness, which we absolutely love.

HISTORY OF COFFEE IN UGANDA

Originally introduced in the early 20th century, Arabica coffee struggled to take hold as disease ravaged the crops early on. The native and undomesticated Robusta, heartier and more resistant to disease, slowly began to dominate the country as smallholder farmers realised its potential through the 1910s and into the 1920s.

Uganda saw its biggest economic coffee boom in the mid-1970s. When a massive frost destroyed a huge Brazilian crop, buyers had a much higher demand for coffee from the rest of the world—and Uganda had the supply to meet it. Coffee became the most valuable export and kept the country’s economy flowing for years after, only faltering when global coffee prices crashed in 1987.