Uganda Norman Mukuru | natural

Based in the foothills of Mount Elgon sourcing coffee from the districts of Sironko, Mbale, Bulambuli and Kapchorwa; Norman established The Coffee Yard which is a huge center for receiving and drying coffee. Norman has extensive experience in coffee, working for nearly 20 years in the industry and he has been producing naturals since 2018 often tweaking his processes to find the profiles that his clients have been looking for. The cherry is delivered to the from the 4 regions around The Coffee Yard where Norman and his team then set about the processing of the naturals.

1) The coffee is delivered to the station where it is then floated and hand picked to remove any unwanted cherries.

2) Drip drying of the cherry to remove the initial moisture from the coffee on raised beds.

3) A second separation of the cherry due to moisture level and colour to create uniform batches.

4) Fermentation either in sealed barrels or in an open tank depending on the end profile they are looking to create. For the more ‚floral‘ profile as this one is it is done in open tanks.

5) The coffee is then dried on raised beds or tarpaulin for around 21 days until it reached below 12%.

The coffee is then stored to rest and homogenise before Norman and the team hull the coffee and then prepare the green for export using hand picking and a colour sorter.