Purple-Blue, Chewy, actually Sweet!
Having worked for many years as the Head of Quality for a green coffee importer, often quality grading somewhere on average of 30 different coffees a day, you would think I would have experienced everything. But one of the most exciting things about specialty coffee is that it’s ever developing, and every so often an emerging origin rises up to surprise us. Rest assured, it isn’t a coincidence that this happens though, as a change in the perception of quality of a whole origin is the fruit of the hard work of individuals with a vision. And so is the story of this coffee; a micro-lot from the ‘Pearl of Africa’; from the Sironko Station in East Uganda.
The story begins with Kenneth Barigye, a man who had a vision to change the world’s perception of Ugandan coffee. Barigye understood the potential of the region, and so he decided to establish the Mountain Harvest project in 2017. He formed a team of individuals, both by training local coffee professionals as well as recruiting from abroad, and began to standardise systems to improve quality and consistency. Recognising the potential due to Mt Elgon’s abundant sunlight and fertile volcanic soil, Sironko station was established at the base of the mountain, becoming the major research hub for the Mountain Harvest project. The result of all of this hard work: this stunning coffee.
You will notice the coffee is called ‘pure natural’, and this is to indicate that the coffee has indeed undergone a truly traditional natural process rather than one of the hybrid types that have recently become popular in some of the more well established specialty coffee origins. Ripe cherries, having been picked at a minimum of 18 brix, are funnelled from some of the most isolated communities of the mountain, namely Yilwanako Mayiyi, Buginyanya, Bushiyi, Makali, Bukalasi, and Sipi and sent directly to raised beds for drying to around 10% moisture.
This coffee is incredibly sweet, so we felt it would be well represented by the Long-necks of the dinosaur world. And my absolute favourite part; the artist further amplified that sweetness by giving the dinosaur the adorable eyelashes you see depicted in the image. The dinosaur is also taking care to water some baby coffee plants, helping grow a future generation of delicious coffee, and reminding me of myself and all my little coffee plants I am currently growing in the roastery (Roastersaurus 2029 release?).
I did the profiling roast for this coffee on a Friday, and didn’t want to wait until the Monday to taste it as I wanted to see how the journey would be from freshly roasted to properly rested. Initially the coffee was full of jammy red fruits like strawberry and apple, but also chewy and reminding me of an eton mess. As we returned to brew and taste the coffee the week after roasting, and as it had rested, the flavours shifted toward more blue and purple colours. As I write this now, I am enjoying some of it in my cup, brewed on the origami, and its aroma reminds me of bubblegum! It has this jammy blackberry quality, with a hint of blueberry juiciness and a black sable grape sweetness. It is chewy. It is round. And did I mention it is sweet?!
Wanna know more? Keep an eye on my blog.