Uganda Rwenzori A Natural

Sourcing Details:

Focus on specialty coffee is on the rise in Uganda thanks in large part to export operations like Long Miles, which has invested in a community processing station (washing station) in the Rwenzori region on the slopes of Mount Rwenzori in the Rubirizi district of Uganda.  The bulk of production comes from small family owned farms where coffee is cultivated on just a few acres of land intercropped with bananas, maize, potatoes and nuts.  Long Miles has brought a tested community based model, perfected in Burundi, to help farmers improve their harvesting strategies, emphasizing the quality premiums associated with only picking cherries that have properly ripened.

Processing Details:

Access to a centralized washing station gives producers the option to deliver cherries rather than bear the expense and risk of processing themselves.  At the washing station, cherries are carefully hand sorted and floated to remove less dense coffee beans and then placed on raised beds and gently dried in the sun to 11 percent moisture.

Exporting details:

Dried coffee is taken to the dry-mill, which features a fully staffed cupping lab to ensure traceability and quality control throughout the post harvest process. Long Miles, using the Coffee Shouts model established in Burundi, has helped train producers on best organic practices, which includes using materials like coffee pulp to make organic fertilizers creating an abundant source of plant nutrition that ensures better yields and quality.