Description

Farm Notes

This coffee comes the the area of Kabeywa village, Kapchorwa District of Eastern Uganda. The area is very close to Mt. Elgon National Park on the Kenyan border, and near the scenic Sipi Falls. And at altitudes ranging from 1800 to 2000 meters above sea level, it is perhaps the highest altitude coffee growing area in all of Uganda. Farmers deliver their fresh cherry to a centralized wet mill that is equipped with water conserving demucilagers to strip the coffee of cherry skin and most of the fruit. The coffee then soaks overnight and is run through Centriflux machines that spin the coffee, removing excess moisture, after which it is moved to skin drying tables for a couple of days. The final drying is done in a mechanical dryer that is fueled by dried coffee parchment skins from their dry mill facility. The local Farmers Training Center provides training to local farmers on coffee handling best practices. The varieties of coffee planted are Ruiru-11, SL-14, SL-28, all types from the Kenya coffee research program. The cup has a unique character for an East African coffee, different than Kenyas or Tanzanias, etc. It has moderate acidity, big body, and chocolate roast tone for days.

Cupping Notes

Fruit and tones lay close to the surface and the aromatics are like a compound of rustic cacao nibs, with molasses and fruit accents. The bitter and sweet tones do well to set the stage for a hearty brewed cup, body and rustic bittersweetness, along with moderate acidity that brings to mind coffees from other East African origins. But the cup expresses a unique Uganda character as well, especially in the big, thick body. The weighty mouthfeel is well suited for mild-to-moderate acidity, adding structure to the syrupy impression impressed upon your palate. The sweetness is like burnt sugars and molasses, that along with raisiny fruited notes, balances raw cacao bittering tones. As the cup cools off, fruited accents mostly remind me of dried fruits like banana and raisins with and an aromatic hint of rosemary and the mouthfeel is very well-rounded. Layers of rich cocoa flavors define Full City and Full City+ roasts. The intensity produced at Full City+ would do well in milk drinks where the ratio of milk is much greater than coffee – like a latte, for example – as a little bit goes a long way in flavor.