Uganda Mukuru Natural

Norman Mukuru is a Ugandan coffee guru with decades of experience. He has established The Coffee Yard, a huge centre for coffee drying with a formidable reputation for high quality naturals with a diverse range of cup profiles

Based in the foothills of Mount Elgon, Norman sources coffee from the districts of Sironko, Mbale, Bulambuli and Kapchorwa. Norman has worked in the coffee industry for nearly 20 years and has been producing naturals since 2018 often tweaking his processes to find the profiles that his clients have been looking for.

Mt Elgon is an extinct volcano on the border with Kenya and is thought to be the oldest volcano on the African continent. The massive base and gentle slopes support thousands of smallholder farmers, with arabica coffee is cultivated across a broad band around the mountain between 1,200 and 2,200masl. Volcanic soils, plentiful rain, high altitude and abundant sunshine are all contributing factors to the excellent terroir of the Mt Elgon region.

Natural processing means the coffee cherries are dried with the bean inside which imparts fruity flavours into the bean.  This processing method, combined with the altitude and conditions in which the coffee is grown, give these beans an interesting flavour profile with a raspberry sweetness balanced with brown sugar and caramel.