We are trying to stock more chocolatey African coffees, and this rich and classic Ugandan natural is a great example of the versatility that African coffees can bring. We bought it through Agri Evolve, a new partner for us in Uganda. They do loads of social work including teaching farmers how to process their coffees better, and are a registered B-Corp.
Karambi is a community lot from the foothills of Rwenzoris in Western Uganda. As is typical in the region, the coffee is harvested and dried-- known locally as "Drugar" or "Dried-Ugandan-Arabica". It is sold dried rather than as cherries to keep a little more of the value with the smallholder farmers rather than the mill/export company who buys it (in this case Agri Evolve). Typically, smallholder farmers in Uganda have less than a hectare, and productivity is low. Many farmers struggle to make a living income, so being able to sell coffee as Drugar rather than cherry is an important step. Agri Evolve have modern processing and milling equipment that can take that dried coffee with dried cherry still intact and process, sort, and mill it into an entry-level specialty coffee. We cupped this coffee at 82 points. It's currently the lowest-scoring coffee on our list, but one that we're feeling really enthusiastic about, as it's such an accessible and solid option for those more into "traditional" coffees. The profile is classic 82, chocolate and peanuts. We have another higher-scoring coffee from Agri Evolve on our list, if you're interested in tasting them comparatively we'd recommend picking up both!
It's exciting to be able to get a coffee that is affordable and a crowd pleaser in terms of flavour profile, as this is the kind of buying that can potentially be scaled up. Long term we hope to buy more volume from origins like Uganda as well, and coffees like this will make that a much more attainable goal.
Elevation: 1300 - 1600 Meters Above Sea Level
Varietal: SL14 and SL28
Cup Score: 82
Price paid per kilo: £6.20
Process: Natural