Name: Ibanda

Producer: 100 Smallhold farmers

Origin: Ibanda, Kasese District, Rwenzori Mountains

Varietal: SL14, SL28

Altitude: 1600- 1800 metres above sea level

Process: Natural

Flavours: Plum, Red Berries & Strawberry

Importer: Agri Evolve

Harvest: October- February (Arrived UK November 2024)






Where is it from?

Agri Evolve Ltd is an agricultural development of Social Enterprise working with farmers in Uganda with the aim of improving yields, improving profits, and improving lives. They are helping coffee farmers to improve the quality and quantity of their coffee crop and provide a good market by paying good prices and paying promptly.

Since 2018 they have been importing the best of the coffee we produce into the UK. They supply green coffee to Coffee Roasters throughoutthe UK using the trading name Rwenzori Coffee Co. It’s a family business, with Jonny the MD heading up the team in Uganda, and Martin providing the link and supplying green coffee to Coffee Roasters in the UK. We first met Martin at Manchester Coffee Festival in 2017 and have since built up a great relationship and have been very impressed with the coffees we have been able to roast.


Agri Evolve has grown steadily over the past 4 years and now have a team of 60 full-time staff in Uganda. Field Officers and Agronomists carry out training with the farmers whilst the production team make sure everything runs smoothly at Kisinga Coffee Station. The quality team have the responsibility of monitoring and evaluating every stage of the process to ensure the highest standards are achieved. They work closely with an established Coffee Exporter, Kyagalanyi Coffee Ltd who supply the investment and infrastructure to enable the business to operate, but it is the Agri Evolve team that makes everything happen on the ground.

Arabica Coffee has been grown in the Rwenzori region for as long as anyone can remember, and the conditions of high rainfall, the altitude from 1300 to over 2000 masl and volcanic soils are perfect for the production of high-quality speciality arabica coffee.

Practically all coffee is grown by smallholder farmers who have coffee trees growing in their fields alongside other crops. The typical size of a plot is between 1 and 2 acres. The main varietals are SL28 and SL14, but with a range of other older varietals. This mix of varietals contributes to the complexity of the coffee produced.
In the past, coffee from this area has not had a good reputation. Poor harvesting and processing and long delays in processing and shipping resulted in an inconsistent, unreliable and low-grade product.

Agri Evolve is committed to turning that around, and in just a few years they have seen a significant improvement. Motivating the farmers to harvest only red cherries by paying top price for the very best cherries is where it starts, and then careful processing and adhering to the highest standards means that we can offer Roasters around the world a bright, fruity and exciting coffee which regularly scores 85 and above.

Ibanda is a village in the northern part of Kasese District situated in one of the many valleys of the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains. Agri Evolve established a buying centre here for the farmers of Ibanda and the surrounding communities higher up on the hillsides. Farmers typically have between 1 and 2 acres of land and coffee is their main cash crop. With the help of Agri Evolve farmers have been shown how to improve their yields by using good agricultural practices. The quality of the harvest has also been greatly improved by
encouraging farmers to only pick the fully ripe cherries, which gives the best prices.

Ripe, red coffee cherries are harvested daily during the harvest season and taken to Ibanda. The cherries are weighed, assessed for quality and the farmers are paid in cash. From here trucks carry the cherries to Bugoye Coffee Station. Here the cherries are floated and graded before being sun-dried in the polytunnels to protect them from rain. The cherries are turned several times each day to ensure even drying whilst allowing the cherries to mature and develop their full rich flavours.

Roast

Medium


Brew

Filter & Espresso