Karugutu is an SL28 Arabica, processed as a natural with 72 hours of anaerobic fermentation. It is grown by smallholder farmers in Mabwe parish, Kyamukube Town Council, in Bunyangabu district on the slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains in western Uganda.
Each farmer in Mabwe looks after about half an acre. In that small space, SL28 coffee trees grow among matooke bananas and yams, shaded by avocado and other fruit trees.
The coffee is grown organically, the soil is fertile, and the farm feeds the family first, with coffee bringing in the cash. Every tree is close to home and gets looked at every day, and that care shows in the cup.
BETUBA’s partner, the Rwenzori Snow Cooperative, organised the Mabwe farmers and trained them in good agronomic practices, selective picking and post-harvest handling. Farmers hand-pick only ripe cherries and deliver them to the cooperative’s collection centre. From there the cooperative brings them to BETUBA’s processing site in Karugutu, Ntoroko district. At Karugutu, the whole cherries ferment in sealed, oxygen-free tanks for 72 hours. They then dry slowly in the sun on raised beds for 28 days.
