Farm Profile: Zukuka Bora, Uganda

Bringing hope back to Mt Elgon one great cup of coffee at a time.

One of the easiest ways to promote sustainability in coffee, while also getting the chance to experiment, is to work with the same farmers or producers every year. Partnerships like this are a key part of Commonfolk’s buying philosophy. We call this kind of buying model, relationship coffee. Commonfolk has direct relationships with many producers around the world, ranging from East Africa to Central and South America. Out of these, there are three key partnerships that make up over 80% of all coffee purchased by Commonfolk. These are farms and producers we return to year after year, and even have the chance to run experimental processes and influence specific methods used to produce our coffee. Over the next three editions, we’ll be profiling each of these producers.

Zukuka Bora

Relationship – Producer

Location – Mt Elgon, Uganda

Elevation – 1800-2400masl

Varietals – SL14, SL28, Heirloom

Processes – Washed, Honey, Natural, Experimental

Zukuka Bora has a very special relationship with Commonfolk. It is a social enterprise that was, and continues to be, funded by Commonfolk’s initiative, The Cup That Counts. Commonfolk contributes 20c from every cup sold towards the initiative; this has helped Zukuka Bora purchase demonstration farms, build processing centres, buy machinery, and provide training and employment to more than six coffee farming communities around Mt Elgon. When Commonfolk helped purchase the initial plot of land for the demonstration farm in 2014 no one could have imagined the impact that Zukuka Bora would have on the Mt Elgon community. The first official harvest was in 2015 and yielded approximately 250kg of washed arabica coffee. The quality was below specialty (cupping scores around 77-80) and only a small group of farmers contributed. Fast forward to the 2019 harvest and Zukuka Bora anticipates up to 40 tons of specialty grade Arabica with cupping scores ranging from mid 80s all the way up to 88-89. It will also include the only honey processed coffees from Mt Elgon, some incredibly high quality naturals and most excitingly some experimental lots created by Commonfolk’s own roasting team. 

For the past two harvest seasons our roastery team have helped run experiments involving intervention fermentations using various brewers yeasts, with particular success working with the yeast used to make champagne. This year we’ve experimented with natural fermentations using local pineapple and passionfruit mixed with the pulped coffee seeds. 

Zukuka Bora is still a really young producer but they have recently acquired a large plot of land in the township of Mbale, where they can build adequate storage sheds, drying beds, a processing and cupping lab, and a roastery cafe. They are planning to increase their output from 2 containers - that’s 36 tons of coffee - to 5 containers over the next 1-2 years. They’re also looking to invest in the farming communities they work in by expanding the two processing facilities they’ve already built in Wanale and Muyanda, and purchasing land in both Sipi and Bududa to demonstrate to the communities that they are in it for the long haul. 

We wouldn’t be surprised if we see a World Barista Champion working with a Zukuka Bora coffee in the near future. They are committed to producing the highest quality coffee while changing the communities they work with at the same time. We’ve used Zukuka Bora coffee in just about every espresso blend we run, from boutique custom blends through to our famous stalwarts Progress St and Godfather. 

We’ve also featured multiple Zukuka Bora microlots as single origins including Sipi Falls, Jose Chameleon, The Honey Badger and The Unicorn. Zukuka Bora is bringing hope back to Mt Elgon one great cup of coffee at a time.