This lot is a new, extended fermentation natural we have sourced for the first time this year. It has been processed at Kihuhire, a washing station owned by Agri Evolve.

Agri Evolve, one of our partners in Uganda, is a profit-for-purpose business located on the slopes of the Rwenzori mountains in Kasese. Due to the area’s high altitudes and fertile soil, it holds great potential for high-quality coffee production and distinctive flavour profiles.

Overview:

The Kihuhire mill sits at 1300 masl and employs approximately 85 staff members, peaking at 200 during the busiest times of the season.

The station runs a program that aims to produce organic fertiliser consisting of 100% coffee pulp. For now, the pulp goes back to the farmer and is mixed with chicken feed, turning it into fertiliser on the farm. The farmers also use limestone and the “phragmites” weed to clean polluted water.

The farms delivering cherries to the washing station sit between 1300 – 2000 masl, most of them located at 1500+ masl. The farms usually have 700-800 trees on average.

Harvest and climate:

In the area of the Rwenzori mountains, flowering takes place in August, while the harvest runs from February until May. According to the farmers, the weather has recently become more extreme. They experienced 4 months of torrential rain, followed by 3 months of drought.

Post-harvest:

Transportation around the washing station can be challenging, due to rainfall, consecutive flooding, limited road access, and the area’s mountainous terrain. Most farmers sell their cherries in the evening, and they are then transported during the night.

At Agri Evolve, the mill and washing station are separated, but are under the same roof. The coffee makes its way from the top to the bottom of the station. The cherries are delivered, depulped, and fermented in open concrete tanks.

Kihuhire has 2 depulpers. The first one can pulp 5 tons of cherry per hour, while the second one can pulp 2 tons per hour, taking all the floaters that will then be passed or rejected.

There are 2 pipes for water: one for freshwater used for cleaning and washing, and the other for recycled water used for floating and transportation. There is a borehole/well 100m deep for water usage at the mill.

Natural processed coffee is sun-dried for 3 weeks, while washed lots are dried for 2-3 weeks. The drying duration varies depending on the weather. When it is rainy, they rely more on mechanical dryers, with a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius. The team has also been experimenting with drying the coffee in ovens during the first few days of the process. This can be useful for consistency purposes, but it is not necessarily more efficient, as the cherries are less sensitive to drying in their early stages.

About our partners:

Agri Evolve is run by a family trio: siblings Beth & Johnny, alongside their father, Martin. They currently employ 20-25 field staff members. The staff and the market agents visit the farmers they work with once a year to audit and assess their farming practices, protocols, and certifications. They have worked with over 15,000 smallholders. Approximately 1000 farmers are organic certified.

Agri Evolve supports surrounding farmers in this area with technical knowledge, finances, and a seedling nursery program, buying seedlings to distribute to farmers. This is essential as the UCDA spread millions of seedlings in Kasese in the past, but of very poor quality. The UCDA (Uganda Coffee Development Authority) is a government agency established to increase quality coffee production, productivity, and marketing.

Most of the coffee in this area is drugar: a local home-processing method used for generations, resulting in a dried, cheap, and low quality coffee, but slightly fruity. Jonny & Beth are trying to change this by getting farmers to deliver them cherry instead.

They’re slowly, but surely, making an impact. 8 years ago, 99% of coffee in this area was drugar, whereas today it has fallen to 90%. Not only does this improve cup quality, but it also has more potential economically.

They have also found an innovative way to create local “collection points”, functioning and looking more like a small community store. Farmers can exchange their coffee for cash or, if they choose, directly into products like soap or other vital household goods.