Additional lab notes: We are really enjoying this coffee. Sweet notes of berries - we taste a variety of berries, reminiscent of candy - on a backdrop of chocolate and caramel with sparkling, lemon acidity. We really like this one as a pour over or brewed with a a Chemex, where the sparkling acidity stands out and then disappears. We keep going back for more.

Preferred brew method: pour over, Chemex, Aeropress, French press, drip, cold brew

About the source: This coffee is from the Sironko Community washing station on Mount Elgon, a massive peak that sits at the boarder between Uganda and Kenya. The Sironko Community washing station is centrally located for the comminutites of Yilwanako, Mayiyi and Buginyanya. It is managed by Ibrahim Kiganda, within the quality team at Mountain Harvest. These full coffee cherries were dried on raised beds at Sironko until the moisture level reached 10%, then brought to Mbale for three months extended rest in Mountain Harvests climate controlled warehouse.

Mountain Harvest was founded in 2017, with a focus on long term economic and environmental sustainability for the small holders on Mount Elgon. Mountain Harvest is made of of 850 small farmers, each growing 600-100 coffee trees. They have centralized processing infrastructure, detailed quality control, and storage facilities throughout the region. The primary processing method for coffee from Mountain Harvest is washed. We were lucky enough to get this natural process lot, which uses cherries from select communities, transported to an experimental processing site near their headquarters in Mbale. The beans are then dried in carefullly controlled volumes on raised beds, overseen by Mountain Harvest’s processing manager, Ibra Kiganda.

About the bean varieties: SL-14 was bred Scott Labs in Kenya in 1936 and is known for its drought tolerance. Nyasaland came to Malawai (formerly Nyasaland) from Jamaica in 1878. In Uganda this variety is known as “Bugisu”.

Certifications: Organic

Sourced by: Royal Coffee

Humanitarian efforts: For this coffee, Lab Notes Coffee will donate 2.5% of each purchase to humanitarian efforts. We split the amount, with 1.25% of each purchase to support the humanitarian efforts of World Vision in Uganda, and 1.25% locally here in Arizona.