There's a new coffee on the shelf at Capital Coffee Roasters. It's come a long way to get here, and right now it's what we're drinking in the morning.
Meet Uganda Malidadi, a bright, sweet and beautifully balanced coffee grown high on the volcanic slopes of Mount Elgon.
Coffee from the slopes of Mount Elgon
Malidadi is grown in the Kibira Ward of the Sironko district in Uganda, at altitudes between 1,500 and 1,850 metres.
This is a landscape made for growing exceptional coffee. Mount Elgon's volcanic soils, high altitude and favourable growing conditions combine with generations of local knowledge to produce distinctive coffees.
This particular coffee is the work of farmer Norman Mukuru and the smallholder growers who tend coffee across these hillsides.
What's in the cup?
Uganda Malidadi is a washed coffee combining three varietals: SL14, SL28 and heirloom Nyasaland.
Together, they produce a layered and lively cup.
You'll find blood orange and black cherry up front, followed by a black tea-like structure and a lingering toffee sweetness.
There's a satisfyingly chewy body underneath it all, resulting in a coffee that's bright without losing its sweetness.
- Tasting notes: Blood orange, black cherry, black tea and toffee
- Process: Washed
- Varietals: SL14, SL28 and heirloom Nyasaland
- Origin: Kibira Ward, Sironko, Uganda
- Altitude: 1,500–1,850 metres
Why does altitude matter for coffee?
Coffee grown at higher altitudes generally develops more slowly as a result of the cooler conditions. That longer development can contribute to greater complexity in the finished bean.
On Mount Elgon, Malidadi is growing as high as 1,850 metres above sea level. Combined with the area's volcanic soil and careful processing, those growing conditions help create the lively fruit character and sweetness we enjoy in this coffee.
How we'd drink Uganda Malidadi
This is the sort of coffee that rewards a slower morning.
Its fruit and sweetness give you plenty to explore in the cup, while its body means there's still something substantial underneath those brighter flavours.
Take your time with it.
Although we won't judge you if the first cup disappears quickly and you immediately make another.
Try Uganda Malidadi
Uganda Malidadi is available now from Capital Coffee Roasters, while stocks last.
If blood orange, black cherry and toffee sound like your kind of morning, get your bag before this one makes the long journey back off the shelf.
