Bulaago Washed

Hailing from the pristine slopes of Mt Elgon Uganda, Zukuka Bora is a coffee producer unlike any other. Established in 2014 in collaboration with Commonfolk and The Cup That Counts, Zukuka Bora exists to empower farmers and return sustainable and regenerative enterprise to a, once, thriving coffee region. We contribute 20c from every coffee we sell towards the initiative and this has helped Zukuka Bora purchase demonstration farms, build processing centres, buy machinery, and provide training and employment to more than six coffee farming communities. Fully washed is the traditional method of processing arabica coffee in the Mt Elgon region. With an ample supply of water [the essential ingredient for washing] and a cool climate, coffee producers know they’ll get consistent quality using this technique. Zukuka Bora purchases only ripe cherries from their farming partners. The cherries are pulped on the day of harvest, fermented in tiled washing tanks for 24-48 hours, before being spread out in a thin layer on raised beds and rotated regularly until dried. Processing coffee in this way leads to an incredible clarity of flavour and aroma. Located about 20km south of Sipi Falls, Bulaago has a long history producing coffee and many coffee exporters have started projects here but they have not lasted long. Bulaago is one of the highest communities on Mt Elgon, but also one of the most inaccessible. The roads are treacherous at the best of times, let alone in a very wet season like we just had. Due to the isolation the coffee is taken down from Bulaago via boda boda (motorcycle), where it can be loaded up before making its way to Mbale to be processed. The record was a fleet of 20 bikes each carrying 130kg each down the rough hour-long tracks to the nearest drivable road. Bulaago washed has a delightful milk chocolate baseline making it perfect in a blend or as a standalone coffee, this combined with a crisp red apple acidity and spiced rum finish round it out to a tee. We’ve sourced this coffee directly from our partners at Zukuka Bora, and handled the import ourselves. Bulaa-go grab yourself a bag today.