Kisiizi Lactic fermentation FW​ Beyond Flagship

This coffee is part of a specialty initiative born from the partnership between Sucafina NV and Ugacof. The project’s mission is to develop a reliable, high-quality flavor profile that adds value to Ugandan coffee. Anička Marková, Green Coffee Merchant at Sucafina NV, worked closely with Ugacof to design a tailored experimental processing method aligned with these goals.

“Our aim was to create a consistent flavor profile by implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and achieving a cup with good body and a smooth, velvety texture,” Anička explains. “Through collaboration and shared expertise, we were able to maintain consistency across batches and ensure uniformity in the cup.”

Specialty coffee projects in this region open doors for farmers to access premium markets and benefit from sustainability programs that can improve yields. With Ugacof’s strong local presence and the strategic location of the farms, these lots enjoy stable production and innovative farming techniques. To top it off, purchases contribute towards our IMPACT Beyond Flagship programming, helping farmers to access tools to invest in higher yields and better quality in the field.  

Kisiizi washing station is located in Rukungiri, Western Uganda. Farmers who deliver their cherry cultivate coffee at 1,500 to 1,900 meters above sea level in a fertile and ideal microclimate. The station is named for the nearby village, which is called Kisiizi.   

In the east, the fertile volcanic soil surrounding Mount Elgon volcano makes for productive coffee farms, and to the west, the Rwenzori mountains offer high altitudes perfect for Arabica cultivation.  

Most farms are small, an average of 1 to 1.5 hectares on average. Most work is done by the family. Coffee is usually the primary cash crop for farmers, but most also intercrop their trees alongside plantains, bananas and fruit. This intercropped produce makes up a substantial part of the family’s diet for the year. 

After purchasing ripe cherries from producers, Kisiizi CWS sends the cherries through a strict sorting process. First, washing station staff remove any lower quality cherry through flotation. Then, a specially trained staff visually inspects the remaining cherry for any visual defects.  

After intake, cherry is pulped and coffee is placed in fermentation tanks. The team prepared a solution of 2% salt of the weight of wet parchment. The solution is then added on wet parchment with water. The tanks are left to ferment in this environment for approximately 40-42 hours before being washed with Eco-washer to remove any remaining mucilage. Parchment is laid on raised beds to sundry. Workers visually hand sort drying parchment to remove any damaged or defective beans. They also rake parchment frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 18 to 24 days for parchment to dry.  

SL28 and SL34 were two of the cultivars released by Scott Agricultural Laboratories (SAL) during the height of SAL’s research in Kenya in the 1930s and 1940s. They soon became the cultivars of choice for most growers thanks to their deep root structure that allows them to maximize scarce water resources and flourish even without irrigation. SL varieties also had higher yields than the French Bourbon rootstock that they replaced and were known to be somewhat more disease resistant. 

Our partner, UGACOF/Sucafina Uganda is committed to improving quality in Uganda by building new washing stations and infrastructure and training personnel in the region. Collaborations with our FarmerHub program and our sustainability partner, the Kahawatu Foundation, are building upon our work to expand farmers’ access to better resources and better training. Our connections to our more established operations in nearby Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya offer us advice and a perspective steeped in a familiarity with East Africa.

The bulk of our work in Uganda is focused in the West, near the Rwenzori Mountains. The biggest difference between East (Mount Elgon) and West (Rwenzori) is that Mount Elgon is a more established and competitive market. We are excited to be at the forefront of the drive for enhancing coffee production infrastructure, developing the industry and becoming reliable partners for farmers in the Rwenzori Mountain region.

It is clear to us that the potential in this region might exceed our expectations and even the potential of the popular Mount Elgon region. With an ever-growing demand for high quality Arabicas and a sustained interest from roasters and coffee drinkers in the East African origins, we are very confident that, with diligence and effort, Western Ugandan coffees will be able to take their place alongside the other great East African coffees. ​

While the scale of work in regions like this can sometimes be overwhelming, we have a clear plan that steadily increases coffee quality.

Our first step is the one that leads to the most immediate and noticeable improvement: harvesting techniques. Due to a long history of home-processing and a lack of incentive for high quality, harvesting in the region is often semi- or entirely non-selective. Thanks to our extended network of cherry collection sites, we meet with farmers every day during the harvest season and can give real-time feedback that can impact the quality of the next day’s harvest. At the collection sites, we can insist on higher levels of care and reward meticulous picking. Though we’re still in the early years, we have seen a clear difference in quality from one year to another and even from the first week of the harvest to the last.

Future steps will include working with farmers to improve their access to materials and knowledge of better farming practices. This means making fertilizer more accessible, encouraging farmers to plant shade canopies and more. We’re planning on building demonstration plots, input access sites across the region and training a new generation of skilled washing station staff. We know it will take time, but we have a strategy and are committed to realizing this vision.