UGANDA | FULLY WASHED | ESPRESSO
SINGLE ORIGIN | MEDIUM ROAST
250GM | 1KG WHOLE BEAN + GROUND OPTIONS
WE TASTE: RED APPLE, DRIED STRAWBERRY, VELVETY CHOCOLATE
PRODUCER: SIRONKO WETMILL
FARM: SMALL HOLDER FARMERS
ORIGIN: SIRONKO, BUDADIRI, MOUNT ELGON | UGANDA
VARIETY: SL28, SL34
PROCESS: FULLY WASHED
ALTITUDE: 1,500 - 1,850 MASL
“The story goes that during a famine centuries ago, the tribes moved east and stumbled across a river which proved their saviour. They named it ‘Sironko’, meaning 'solace' and 'peacefulness' in the Lumasaba language, spoken by the ethnic locals on the slopes of Mount Elgon. Our washing station is located in Budadiri subcounty near the famous river and processes coffee cherries from the surrounding communities, still sustained by this abundant water source.
We provide 'Good Agricultural Practices' (GAP) Training for partner farmers to help improve quality, productivity and yield, as well as agro inputs and seedlings. Our Sironko team also operate women and youth empowerment programs; running workshops addressing attitudinal change on resource ownership, acquisition and family participation, as well as creating farmer savings and loans groups to encourage long term economic stability in the community. “
At 1250 masl, the Sironko Coffee washing station sits in a unique location to accommodate arrivals from higher altitude farms up to 1850m along the slopes of Mt Elgon.
Mt Elgon is an extinct volcano on the border with Kenya and is thought to be the oldest volcano on the African continent. The massive base and gentle slopes support thousands of smallholder farmers, with arabica coffee is cultivated across a broad band around the mountain between 1,200 and 2,200masl.
Volcanic soils, plentiful rain, high altitude and abundant sunshine are all contributing factors to the excellent terroir of the Mt Elgon region and the subsequent exceptional cup quality.
Selectively hand-picked cherries arrive at Sironko Washing Station where they are subjected to quality and weight tests. Automatic floatation separates the cherries by density into 3 quality grades, with the densest cherries representing the highest quality.
The selected cherries are then mechanically depulped and demucilaged using an Eco pulper. Farmers are trained to decompose the discarded pulp and use as composite fertilizer, while waste water is treated on site and used for other crops and demo-farms in the local area. The wet parchment is then mechanically dried. A variety of drying chambers and carefully regulated temperatures help maintain the quality of the coffee throughout this process. The first chamber consists of water drainage (skin drying) and lasts approximately 7 hours. This helps to eliminate any chance of quality deterioration associated with traditional fermentation & sun-drying.
It takes between 21 and 48 hours total to dry the wet parchment to recommended moisture level of 12%.
SINGLE ORIGIN | MEDIUM ROAST
250GM | 1KG WHOLE BEAN + GROUND OPTIONS
WE TASTE: RED APPLE, DRIED STRAWBERRY, VELVETY CHOCOLATE
PRODUCER: SIRONKO WETMILL
FARM: SMALL HOLDER FARMERS
ORIGIN: SIRONKO, BUDADIRI, MOUNT ELGON | UGANDA
VARIETY: SL28, SL34
PROCESS: FULLY WASHED
ALTITUDE: 1,500 - 1,850 MASL
“The story goes that during a famine centuries ago, the tribes moved east and stumbled across a river which proved their saviour. They named it ‘Sironko’, meaning 'solace' and 'peacefulness' in the Lumasaba language, spoken by the ethnic locals on the slopes of Mount Elgon. Our washing station is located in Budadiri subcounty near the famous river and processes coffee cherries from the surrounding communities, still sustained by this abundant water source.
We provide 'Good Agricultural Practices' (GAP) Training for partner farmers to help improve quality, productivity and yield, as well as agro inputs and seedlings. Our Sironko team also operate women and youth empowerment programs; running workshops addressing attitudinal change on resource ownership, acquisition and family participation, as well as creating farmer savings and loans groups to encourage long term economic stability in the community. “
At 1250 masl, the Sironko Coffee washing station sits in a unique location to accommodate arrivals from higher altitude farms up to 1850m along the slopes of Mt Elgon.
Mt Elgon is an extinct volcano on the border with Kenya and is thought to be the oldest volcano on the African continent. The massive base and gentle slopes support thousands of smallholder farmers, with arabica coffee is cultivated across a broad band around the mountain between 1,200 and 2,200masl.
Volcanic soils, plentiful rain, high altitude and abundant sunshine are all contributing factors to the excellent terroir of the Mt Elgon region and the subsequent exceptional cup quality.
Selectively hand-picked cherries arrive at Sironko Washing Station where they are subjected to quality and weight tests. Automatic floatation separates the cherries by density into 3 quality grades, with the densest cherries representing the highest quality.
The selected cherries are then mechanically depulped and demucilaged using an Eco pulper. Farmers are trained to decompose the discarded pulp and use as composite fertilizer, while waste water is treated on site and used for other crops and demo-farms in the local area. The wet parchment is then mechanically dried. A variety of drying chambers and carefully regulated temperatures help maintain the quality of the coffee throughout this process. The first chamber consists of water drainage (skin drying) and lasts approximately 7 hours. This helps to eliminate any chance of quality deterioration associated with traditional fermentation & sun-drying.
It takes between 21 and 48 hours total to dry the wet parchment to recommended moisture level of 12%.
