Uganda Robusta

This is an organic certified robusta, grown at lower altitude than the Mt. Elgon Bugisu coffee, but still by the same group of farmers in the Eastern side of the country. Organic robusta is very hard to find which is one reason we don't often have one in stock. The varietal was genetically created to be able to grow at low levels with high yields, at the expense of losing its good taste (think Florida tomato industry…) So most of it IS grown at low levels. This means that robusta is a small and a soft bean — tricky to roast and susceptible to burning.

The only APPROVED specialty coffee industry use for robusta is to stick it in your espresso at a 10 to 15% level to give it a full richness, creamy body, and extra caffeine. You want to take it at least into the 2nd cracks -- probably about 15 seconds into the 2nd cracks (and the 2nd cracks start late, so be ready for that). It produces a lot of chaff and smells bad when it's roasting.

The unapproved thing you can do with it is create a high-caffeine drip blend. Blend it with something light and sweet, like a Tanzania or a Natural processed coffee. Roughly 50-50 and you get a cup of coffee that 1 — makes everyone extraordinarily cheerful and 2 — tastes different than what you’re used to, with a bit of a rubber tire unpleasantness — but some people really like it. If you want a strong caffeine kick, and you add a little cream to the coffee, it's a good way to get into gear.

US Arrival October 2023