Ouganda - The Coffee Yards Natural Aerobic
Region : Mt Elgon
Farm : Around 300 local smallholders
Cultivar : SL14, SL28, Nyasaland
Altitude : 1 400 - 2 000 m
Process : Short-drip Aerobic Natural
Taste notes : Cantaloupe, Mead, Tamarind
TASTING PROFILE
This extraordinary cup opens with aromas of melon and striking exotic notes. Its honey-like texture is accompanied by a lively acidity, evoking the tangy character of raw honey, while its aromatic intensity subtly recalls mead. The deep, umami-rich finish, with its sweet-and-salty balance reminiscent of tamarind, brings the whole cup together.
ORIGIN
A first for Nektar: never before have we offered a coffee from Uganda.
Norman Mukuru began his career as an agronomist before specializing in coffee collection and processing. After developing operations across several regions of the country, he founded The Coffee Yards, a centralized processing facility near Mbale focused on improving drying, quality and overall processing efficiency.
This lot brings together coffees from approximately 300 producers across four communities on Mount Elgon. The Coffee Yards applies a distinctive process known as “Short-drip Aerobic Natural”: the cherries are briefly pre-dried, then fermented in the open air before completing their drying under controlled conditions on raised beds.
The result is a particularly exotic expression of the terroir and a decidedly unusual introduction to Uganda, an origin we are very proud to offer for the first time at Nektar.
TASTING
As an espresso, it is genuinely disorienting: the mead character comes through with intensity in a quickly pulled short double shot. With steamed milk, the coffee gains sweetness and its honeyed texture becomes even more prominent, while the acidity recedes.
In filter, however, this coffee reveals its full finesse: a profusion of aromas unfolds, from vibrant melon to the umami nuances of the finish. A truly atypical experience for those who like to venture off the beaten path.
Espresso parameters:
Ground coffee : 18 g.
Resulting quantity : 42 g.
Time : 24 sec.
Drip parameters:
Ground coffee : 15 g.
Resulting quantity : 220 g.
Temperature : 91 C.