• UGANDA - SIRONKO MICRO MILL
  • UGANDA - SIRONKO MICRO MILL
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UGANDA - SIRONKO MICRO MILL

$20.00
$20.00

Grown on the high-altitude slopes of Mount Elgon, Uganda - Sironko Micro Mill coffee is a carefully processed coffee and consists of SL14, SL28, and Nyasaland varieties. This coffee delivers a balanced, flavorful cup, thanks to a meticulous process that includes pulping, soaking in cold mountain water, and a 40-hour fermentation. The beans are then solar dried, enhancing their natural flavors. Expect notes of milk chocolate, cloves and a tart pomegranate like acidity with a buttery mouthfeel, brought to market with the support of Falcon Coffee and The Coffee Gardens Project, which promotes sustainable farming and community growth.
UGANDA - SIRONKO MICRO MILL
UGANDA - SIRONKO MICRO MILL

  • TYPE

    SINGLE ORIGIN

  • COUNTRY

    UGANDA

  • REGION

    SIRONKO

  • PRODUCER

    LOCAL SMALLHOLDERS

  • VARIETIES

    SL-14, SL-28, NYASALAND

  • PROCESS

    WASHED

  • ALTITUDE

    1600 - 2000 MASL

  • CUP NOTES

    BUTTERY, MILK CHOCOLATE, CLOVES, POMEGRANATE
20% OFF ON FIRST BOXX SUBSCRIPTION

More about the Uganda - Sironko Micro Mill

Relationship: 

We have worked on this coffee with our friends at Falcon Coffee. Although we sometimes work with farmers directly, it is important to recognize the value of a trusted importer like Falcon can bring as well. We do not have the time or opportunity to visit every origin and meet every farmer we get to roast coffee from. Working with a trusted importer allows us to have many more origins than we could only get to know ourselves.

Country: 

Uganda has been traditionally a Robusta producing country. In the last couple years production of arabica beans have increased but even then, as July  UCDA report states, Uganda has produced 46,346,640 kilos of Robusta and 3,455,779 kilos of Arabica beans in 2024. North American purchase of Uganda beans only cover %3 of the country's green bean export. 

Region: 

Located on the eastern border of the country Mt. Elgon region, neighbors Kenya around Mt. Elgon, the oldest volcanic mountain in Africa. It is comforting to say it is an extinct shield volcano as well. This coffee was grown on high altitudes of 1600-2000 masl. Mild slopes of the volcano hosts thousands of farmers.

Processing Station: 

The Coffee Gardens Project has been established with many purposes, such as to improve farmers income and livelihoods, create and provide rural employment, promote gender equality, increase transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain, promote and work on environmental protection in the area and provide farmer training in Good Agricultural Practises (GAP).

Variety: 

Coffee consists of three different varieties.

SL 14:

  • SL14 is a variety with tall trees,  and produces good cup quality and is an optimal variety to grow on medium and high altitudes. Beans are bigger and yield is high. SL14 was originally selected in Kenya in the late 1930s at the Scott Agricultural Laboratories (for more on Scott Labs, see SL28). Individual tree selections made at the Scott Laboratories in Kenya during the 1935-1939 period were prefixed “SL.” SL14 was selected in 1936 from a single tree labeled Drought Resistant II (D.R. II), and drought tolerance is a noted characteristic of SL14. Historical records documenting the origin of D.R. II were lost, but the seedlings were established at Kabete in 1933, and then widely distributed in areas east of the Rift Valley in Kenya.Recent genetic tests have confirmed that SL14 is related to the Typica genetic group. It is economically important in both Kenya and Uganda.

SL 28: 

  • SL28 is a variety with tall trees,  and produces exceptional cup quality and is an optimal variety to grow on medium and high altitudes. Beans are bigger and yield is high.  SL28 is among the most well-known and well-regarded varieties of Africa. It has consequently spread from Kenya, where it was originally selected in the 1930s, to other parts of Africa (it is important in Arabica-growing regions of Uganda, in particular) and now to Latin America. The variety is suited for medium to high altitudes and shows resistance to drought, but is susceptible to the major diseases of coffee. 
  • Individual tree selections made at the Scott Laboratories during the 1935-1939 period were prefixed SL. Forty-two trees of various origins were selected and studied for yield, quality, and drought and disease resistance. SL28 was considered the prize selection of this period of intensive breeding. Recent genetic tests have confirmed that SL28 is related to the Bourbon genetic group

Nyasaland: 

  • Nyasaland is a variety with tall trees, susceptible to diseases but produces good cup quality. It requires low maintenance and can sustain itself on low nutrition. One of the oldest Arabica coffee varieties introduced to Africa. The variety originates from Typica introduced to Nyasaland (now Malawi) in 1878 from Jamaica. Nyasaland was taken from Malawi to Uganda in 1910, where farmers also struggled with the variety. Early failure led to the widespread planting of Robusta in Uganda. But in recent years, there has been a small resurgence of Arabica growing on the slopes of Mount Elgon, where Nyasaland (locally called Bugisu) is an important variety for smallholders.

Process: 

  • Coffee is delivered to the station and sorted by 4 employees dedicated to this job. The coffee is pulped and then soaked in cold mountain water, before being submerged in tanks for a 40hr signature fermentation. The coffee is then washed and any floaters removed and transferred for skin drying on raised beds in the shade for 2-3 days. After this, the coffee is put into a solar drier where it will continue to dry for 10 days until it reaches between 15-25%, depending on the time of the season and local weather.
  • At this stage the coffee is then transported down the hill to The Coffee Gardens drying yard in Mbale, where it is dried down for another 10 days to reach 11% moisture content, before it is left to rest and then prepared for milling and shipping.