LimitedSpecialty
Uganda · Bugisu (Mount Elgon)
- Species
- Arabica
- Process
- Fully washed
- Grade
- Bugisu AA
- Screen
- 18+
- Crop
- 2025/26
- Quantity
- 1 × 20ft
Baked apple · Cane sugar · Cedar
Specialty
Uganda Specialty Coffee
Robusta ranges from neutral, heavy-bodied commercial cups to clean, sweet, low-rubber screen-graded lots. Elgon Arabica is typically winey and full-bodied; DRUGAR shows dried-fruit and spice character.
Specialty profile
- Traceability unit
- Washing station for Arabica; collection area for Robusta
- Processing
- Natural (Robusta), Washed Arabica (WUGAR), Natural Arabica (DRUGAR)
- Altitude
- Robusta 900–1,500 m; Arabica 1,300–2,300 m
- Harvest
- Robusta main crop November–February with a fly crop April–July; Elgon Arabica October–February
- Export window
- Year-round, with the heaviest Robusta shipments December–April
- Packaging
- 60 kg jute; Robusta also moves in bulk-lined containers
Robusta is indigenous to the Lake Victoria basin and accounts for the majority of Ugandan output. Arabica is a smaller but commercially significant share, concentrated on Mount Elgon and in the western and north-western highlands.
What a specialty offer from this origin includes
Lot identity at the level shown above, the process detail the station records, moisture and water activity with the measurement methods stated, a screen analysis, a defect count, tasting notes, and a cupping score where the lot has been cupped — with the protocol named. We do not publish estimated scores.
Grades
Specialty grade designations
Grades used for Uganda specialty separations. They describe preparation and size — the cup is confirmed on the sample.
| Grade | What it encodes | Screen |
|---|---|---|
| Bugisu AA (washed Arabica) | Washed Mount Elgon Arabica screened to the AA size block. Sold under the Bugisu regional designation. | Screen 18 and above |
| WUGAR — Washed Ugandan Arabica | Trade designation for Ugandan Arabica that has been fully washed. Further specified by screen and defect count. | — |
Geography
Where specialty lots come from
Growing areas within Uganda, with the altitude and harvest timing that shape the separations available from each.
| Region | Altitude | Harvest | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bugisu (Mount Elgon) | 1,500–2,300 m | October–February | Uganda’s flagship Arabica area on the western slopes of Mount Elgon. Sold under the Bugisu designation and graded AA, A, B and PB. |
| Rwenzori | 1,400–2,000 m | August–November | Western highlands along the Congo border. Historically the core of DRUGAR production, with washing-station capacity expanding. |
| West Nile (Okoro) | 1,400–1,800 m | August–November | North-western Arabica area around Zombo and Nebbi. Earliest Ugandan Arabica of the year, which makes it useful for bridging into the new crop. |
| Kigezi | 1,500–2,200 m | May–August and October–January | South-western highlands bordering Rwanda. Two picking windows, high altitude and a growing number of small washing stations. |
| Masaka & Greater Lake Victoria | 1,100–1,400 m | November–February with a fly crop April–July | Core Robusta belt on the lake’s north-western shore. Supplies most of the screen-graded Ugandan Robusta traded internationally. |
Availability
Uganda specialty lots
Keep reading
More on Uganda
- Uganda Green CoffeeUgandan green coffee — screen-graded Robusta from the Lake Victoria basin and washed and natural Arabica from Mount Elgon, Rwenzori and West Nile.
- Uganda Coffee Crop CalendarFlowering, harvest, processing, milling and export windows for Uganda.
- Specialty Coffee ScoringHow specialty coffee is assessed: descriptive versus affective evaluation, defect thresholds, and what "specialty" actually means commercially.
- Coffee CuppingHow professional coffee cupping works: sample roasting, grind, ratio, water, the break, and the controls that make one table’s results comparable with another’s.
- Green Coffee Sample EvaluationHow to evaluate a green coffee sample: sample types, physical analysis, sample roasting, cupping, record-keeping and what to do when a sample disappoints.
- Coffee TraceabilityHow coffee traceability actually works from plot to container: the levels of separation available, where identity is lost, and what records support each level.