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Masira Washed PROCESS - SIronko, UGANDA

Quick Facts

Producer: Growers in the Masira Community - processed by the Sipi Falls Washing Station.

Country: Uganda

Region: Sironko

Elevation: 1,600- 1,875 m.as.l.

Varieties: SL-34, SL-14, Bourbon

Harvest: November - January

Process: Washed

History

Masira is a community located in eastern Uganda on the slopes on Mount Elgon. While Masira is in the region of Sironko, it is bordered just to its north by the community of Sipi which is in the well know region of Kapchorwa. (Sipi is famous for the many beautiful Sipi waterfalls that found throughout that area.) The Masira area, just like Sipi and Kapchorwa to it's north, is one of the highest elevation coffee producing areas in the country, and the producers here are recognized as some of the most quality dedicated as well. This is processed by Atlantic Specialty's sister company, Kawacom, at their Sipi Falls washing station and dry processing site.

Kawacom started in Uganda in 1999, buying parchment and selling mostly Bugisu semi-washed (farmer processed coffee). In 2012, Kawacom completed the build-out of the Sipi Falls washing station on Mount Elgon, alowing them much more control of their quality.

Kawacom started focusing on community specific microlot selections in 2015, and have since taken the top spots at the AFCA Taste of Harvest in Uganda for their natural, washed, and honey processed coffees on multiple occasions. To produce their top lots, the Sipi Falls washing station selects specific days when they know they can talk and work with the community to get better cherry selection.

Flavor Notes

Citric, Plum, Caramel

Coffees from the Sipi Falls / Kapchorwa and Sironko area are known and sought after for their quality throughout Uganda. These coffees are also known for how versatile their flavor profile can be, when done right. The profile is said to be a cross between coffees from Latin american and Africa. Up front the acidity is rounded but citric, and the flavor goes from stone fruits- to spice -to light sweetness and nut. The profile is thought to be remarkably easy to work with, as it very balanced and has little bit of everything.

Processing Information

Washed

The coffee is pulped, de-mucilaged, and soaked overnight in clean water for about 8-12 hours. After being de-mucilaged and soaked, the coffee goes to the Centriflux machine that spins the coffee to remove surface moisture. After which the coffee is put out on patios and tarps to skin-dried for a few hours. After skin drying, the coffee goes into a mechanical drier. The first 18-24 hours the temp is set at 45C. Then the drier is turned off for 12-18 hours, where the moisture of the coffee is allowed to come to a better equilibrium throughout the seed. After, the drier is re-started at 35 C and the coffee is dried till it reaches 10.5%. After drying the parchment coffee is stored in grainpro.

While mechanical driers and Ugandan coffee in general are known not to hold up well, this coffee defies that history. With exceptional pristine arrivals year-in and year out, this methodical process has been proven to create Ugandan coffee with unmatched shelf stability.

New in 2019/2020

Our first Single Community selection from Masira

Sironko is a region sandwiched between Kapchorwa and Mbale, two regions we know well and liked coffee from. For the 2019 /2020 season, we made a pre-harvest plan for buying washed an naturals from Masira. This is our first year sourcing these coffees, but Kawacom -our export partners, have been developing buying from here for years.