Click to enlarge map of Robusta growing areas.

Indigenous to this country, Uganda Robusta is considered to be of premium quality, suitable for both blending and the production of quality soluble coffee. The Robusta crop is produced in two main areas of the country, and in two distinct annual seasons.

Coffee farms in Uganda tend to be small, and the coffee is often intercropped with other cash and subsistence crops, frequently plaintain, which provides the staple diet for most Ugandans. This practise means that the coffee trees receive excellent natural shade from the hot equatorial sun.

Uganda Robusta is usually dry processed, but renewed interest in wet processing has led to the restoration of the central pulperies that were built in the 1950's and 1960's. During dry processing the cherries are sun-dried on papyrus mats until the skin of the berry turns black, and the resulting 'Kiboko' is milled to produce the green bean, known as FAQ (Fair Average Quality).

Uganda Natural Robusta

Grading of the FAQ sorts the coffee by size and weight into three main screens: 18, 15 and 12.

• Screen 12: Fair cup, clean and plain
• Screen 15: Fair to good cup, full body, clean
• Screen 18: Good cup with good body

Lower grades include 11.99, rejects of screen 18 and 15, Black Beans and BHP (broken half pieces), which are separated from the main grades through various processes: either during handpicking, or through the catadoring and gravity separation process or through the electronic colour sorters.

Uganda Washed Robusta

A good cup, bright, neutral and well balanced with a light acidity.