Imbalu, Uganda - Filter

PRODUCER: The Coffee Yard

PROCESS:  Natural Anaerobic

REGION: Sironko District, Eastern Uganda

VARIETAL: SL14, SL28

ALTITUDE: 1800-2000 MASL

Tasting Notes:   Juicy and sweet, fragrant mandarin with black cherry and apricot body and toasted pecan and granola finish

About The Coffee

The Coffee Yard is a new commercial partner to The Coffee Gardens who are supporting Norman Mukuru and his team to bring his coffees to the UK and EU. This relationship is now in its second year.

The Coffee Gardens have known Norman for a number of years and built a relationship on sharing knowledge and learning from each other around processing and creating farmer traceabilty programs. It is based off this history and trust that they have been able to develop the relationship to now export Norman's coffee.

Based in the foothills of Mount Elgon souring 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 in and he has been producing naturals since 2018 often tweaking his processes to find the profiles that his clients have been looking for. 

Imbalu Coffee is a unique microlot inspired by the Mt. Elgon tradition of Imbalu, a ceremonial rite of passage for the Bagisu people. Imbalu occurs in even years and involves circumcision ceremonies, cultural dances, and feasts.

According to Norman's storytelling, the cherries were left unattended during the Imbalu celebrations and began to ferment, leading to the use of a dry processing instead of the traditional washed, which gives it its distinctive sweet taste!