Producer: Sipi Falls Community
Location: Kapchorwa, Sipi Falls, Uganda
Harvest (months): November-January
Altitude: 1,700-1950 meters above sea level
Varieties: SL-34, SL-14 & Bourbon
Processing: Natural (Washed & Honey processes also available from the same community!)
Tasting Notes: Wild Berry Jam, Concord Grape
Sipi is a community located in eastern Uganda on the slopes on Mount Elgon. This region is famous for its beautiful waterfalls, and is also one of the highest elevation coffee producing areas in the country. In the last seven years, Kawacom, a Ugandan coffee processing company, has partnered with Atlantic Specialty Coffee, one of our importers, and made major investments in refining their infrastructure, making meticulous drying and storage upgrades. This has had a positive impact on the quality of all the coffees coming from their processing site in Chema, but it shows particularly in the honey and natural processed coffees they are now creating, which are consistently very fruity and juicy, but never overly fermented.
Thanks to all their hard work and upgrades, we have the opportunity to taste the delicious coffee from the Gamatui community specifically processed in three different ways: washed, honey processed, and natural sun-dried.
Natural Sun-dried Processing: Kawacom started focusing on community specific microlot selections in 2015, and have since taken 1st place in the AFCA Taste of Harvest in Uganda for their natural, washed, and honey processed coffees on multiple occasions. To produce their top lots, the leaders at the Gamatui washing station select specific harvest days when the fruit is perfectly ripe, and they know they can talk and work with the community to get the best cherry selection.
On these days, the ripe cherry is brought immediately to raised beds where it is laid out in single layers and further sorted for ripeness. The coffee is constantly turned throughout the day to ensure even drying, and drying will take approximately 3 weeks, depending on the weather. The cherry is dried down to approx 10.5% moisture content and then stored in grainpro bags to protect it. From this point the coffee will be milled and prepared for export.
