We have two coffees going out to our single origin box subscribers this month. Both of these come from three year long relationships. Luis Alberto Balladarez is a star producer in Nicaragua, and Mountain Harvest in Uganda is doing wonderful things to elevate processing techniques in Uganda. These both represent the best from these countries: Uganda and Nicaragua.

This Kajare lot is a new one for us as well as the community that produced it. It comes from Mountain Harvest in Uganda. Mountain Harvest has been buying farm-washed parchment for the last five years from the Kajare community. But this year they built a micro washing station so that they can purchase cherry within the heart of the community. This puts the processing in the hands of Mountain Harvest and allows for increased quality control measures as well as experimentation. It also provides Mountain Harvest an outpost to better educate smallholder farmers on quality.

Image of Ugandan Men carrying bags of coffee on their heads — Uganda Coffee

David Woniala is the Processing Manager at Kajare. The cherry is sourced from Lusha, Bulaago, Gombe, Zemasito, Bunasufwa, and Bugatisa villages within the Kajere community in the North Mount Elgon region. This washed coffee is dry fermented in cherry for 40 hours in sealed drums, then pulped and dry fermented for 24 hours in sealed drums, hand-rubbed for about 30 minutes, and then wet fermented for another 24hrs in open drums. Afterward, the coffee is washed, soaked, rinsed, and placed on the drying beds in a solar dryer to a moisture of 11%. These processing steps are what help make this coffee stand out with good sweetness and acidity. Traditionally, coffee has not been processed this way in Uganda. With Mountain Harvest’s focus on producing specialty coffee, they are changing the paradigm of what coffee from Uganda can taste like.

We know we are lucky—lucky to have secured some more coffees from Luis Alberto Ballardarez this year. During his harvest in early 2022, he experienced abnormal amounts of rain that affected his crops, and he produced about half of his typical yield. Our supplier, who has been visiting him for years, purchased some volume—but not as much as normal. We pre-booked this coffee to ensure it had our name on it!

image of Nicaragua Pacamara Coffee Plant — Nicaragua Pacamara

Luis Alberto Ballardarez has a few farms: Finca Un Regalo De Dios, La Bendicion, and La Prometido. Our Yellow Catuai is from Regalo De Dios and this Pacamara is from La Bendicion. He is an innovator specializing in planting unique varieties and tailoring the processing method for each variety. He extensively cups in his own lab to separate or blends together coffees. In fact, he has placed many times in the Cup of Excellence (COE) competition, and he won 1st place a few years back. His accolades—and his coffee—speak volumes about his skill!

It’s no surprise that this stellar Pacamara Honey process coffee is from Luis Alberto Balladarez and his farm, La Bendicion. It is a cross between Pacas and the large-bean Maragogipe, evident in the Pacamara’s bean size. This variety, too, has done very well in central American cupping competitions.

We love this Pacamara Honey for its deep chocolate notes with loads of sweetness—think cherry, honey, pineapple, and a juicy red apple. It’s a fun aromatic coffee that isn’t too funky or out there. It’s intriguing yet delicious, and there’s just something about it that you will keep coming back for more.

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What's in the Box: Uganda Kajare and Nicaragua Pacamara Honey