This coffee has come a long way since we first tasted it in 2015. It was the very first washing station Zukuka Bora (ZB) built. Back then, the lot from Wanale didn’t quite hit the mark, falling short of specialty grade and any real excitement on the cupping table. But year after year, the ZB team has committed to the long game, improving quality, refining processing, and investing in the farmers across Mt Elgon. Heck, one of the day lots even made it into the 2025 ALAMANC, and the PSS (Pre-ship Sample) of Wanale Washed Reserve would have scored a 90+

Zukuka Bora began with a simple idea: that smallholder farmers in Uganda’s east deserved a clearer path to market, without relying on predatory middlemen or inconsistent buyers. Since then, they have built washing stations across the region, implemented training programs, and pushed quality control standards that match or exceed those in other producing countries. Their new Bukhanakwa site up a treacherous climb from Wanale is a credit to this, bought from Chairman Richard with help from funds from The Cup That Counts, means these producers no longer have to take the track down to Wanale with 50kg of cherry on their head to sell to ZB. Wanale, meanwhile, has quietly become a washed-process staple in ZB’s catalogue. Through better farming practices, careful cherry selection and dialled-in processing techniques, the farmers here have unlocked something special. After harvest, cherries are pulped, fermented overnight in water, then dried slowly in parabolic dryers on raised beds. It is a method that preserves clarity and structure in the final cup.

This year’s lot is rich, balanced and deeply satisfying. Expect silky treacle sweetness, a poached fruit tang and some dried raisin or sultana notes. A washed coffee with both polish and personality, and a proud reflection of the people who brought it to life. We have imported this coffee directly from our friends at Zukuka Bora, legends through and through, and a driving force behind some of the most exciting coffees coming out of Uganda today.

We love Wanale Washed as an homage to how all good things start, slowly, deliberately. It’s only right that it’s one of our first ZB releases every year.