Name: Busingo

Producer: 100 Smallholder farmers

Origin: Nyabirongo, Kisinga

Varietal: SL14, SL28

Altitude: 1700 metres above sea level

Process: Natural- yeast Fermentation

Importer: Agri Evolve & Django Coffee

Harvest: February- May (Arrived UK April 2024)






Where is it from?

Ugandan coffee holds a special place in our hearts here at Django Coffee. Our founder, Ste, embarked on a journey to Uganda in April 2023, where he visited the farms and met with the dedicated farmers we have been collaborating with for the past six years.

Agri Evolve Ltd is an agricultural development of Social Enterprise working with farmers in Uganda with the aim of improving yields, improving profits, and improving lives. They are helping coffee farmers to improve the quality and quantity of their coffee crops and provide a good market by paying good prices and paying promptly.

Since 2018 they have been importing the best of the coffee we produce into the UK. They supply green coffee to Coffee Roasters throughout the UK using the trading name Rwenzori Coffee Co. It’s a family business, with Jonny the MD heading up the team in Uganda, and Martin providing the link and supplying green coffee to Coffee Roasters in the UK. We first met Martin at Manchester Coffee Festival in 2017 and have since built up a great relationship and have been very impressed with the coffees we have been able to roast.


Agri Evolve has grown steadily over the past 4 years and now have a team of 60 full-time staff in Uganda. Field Officers and Agronomists carry out training with the farmers whilst the production team make sure everything runs smoothly at Kisinga Coffee Station. The quality team have the responsibility of monitoring and evaluating every stage of the process to ensure the highest standards are achieved. They work closely with an established Coffee Exporter, Kyagalanyi Coffee Ltd who supply the investment and infrastructure to enable the business to operate, but it is the Agri Evolve team that makes everything happen on the ground.

Arabica Coffee has been grown in the Rwenzori region for as long as anyone can remember, and the conditions of high rainfall, the altitude from 1300 to over 2000 masl and volcanic soils are perfect for the production of high-quality speciality arabica coffee.

Practically all coffee is grown by smallholder farmers who have coffee trees growing in their fields alongside other crops. The typical size of a plot is between 1 and 2 acres. The main varietals are SL28 and SL14, but with a range of other older varietals. This mix of varietals contributes to the complexity of the coffee produced.
In the past, coffee from this area has not had a good reputation. Poor harvesting and processing and long delays in processing and shipping resulted in an inconsistent, unreliable and low-grade product.

Agri Evolve is committed to turning that around, and in just a few years they have seen a significant improvement. Motivating the farmers to harvest only red cherries by paying top price for the very best cherries is where it starts, and then careful processing and adhering to the highest standards means that we can offer Roasters around the world a bright, fruity and exciting coffee which regularly scores 85 and above.

To reach Busingo you have to drive up the valley from Nyabirongo to the town of Kyarumba and then another few miles over very rough roads. At the head of the valley you can drive no further. You set off on foot and climb for about an hour, through some stunning scenery until you reach the small community of Busingo at an altitude of 1700 masl. Here the coffee grows well and the
farmers take great pride in harvesting the red ripe cherries. Our Agri Partner Jennifer collects ripe cherries from the 90 farmers in this area and pays them cash and the cherries are then taken back to our coffee station at Nyabirongo.
Back at Nyabirongo, the cherries were floated and then placed in fermentation tanks for 3 days with a special yeast additive to enhance the fermentation process. The cherries are then moved to drying racks for 3 -5 days of sun drying before the drying process is finished in mechanical driers. The coffee is then hulled, processed in the dry mill and prepared for export.
The result – a funky, wild coffee with good fruit and chocolate notes, a nice vibrancy and a long finish

Roast

Medium


Brew

Filter & Espresso