Uganda | Kamogo — Culture Washed

DETAILS

Varieties: SL-14, SL-28
Country: Uganda
Region: Kapchorwa Town, Mt. Elgon
Process: Culture Washed
Altitude: 1600–2150 MASL
Producer: Benjamin Jenkin, Cahoots Coffee
Washing Station: Kapyoma
Roast Level: Light–Medium

This release marks September's first-ever coffee from Uganda, and with it, our introduction to the Kamogo project. Produced by Benjamin Jenkin of Cahoots Coffee, this lot represents a new and promising chapter in Ugandan specialty production. Complex, sweet, and beautifully balanced, it has been profiled for light espresso but shines with clarity across all brewing methods.

TASTES LIKE — Dates 🍇 • Juicy Fig 🌿 • Brown Sugar 🍯

In the cup, expect a deep, velvety sweetness reminiscent of dates and sun-ripened figs, supported by a clean yet soft citric acidity. A note of brown sugar brings warmth and cohesion to the profile. The texture is silky, and the finish is long, sweet, and exceptionally balanced.

The mind behind Cahoots Coffee, Benjamin Jenkin, has spent the past decade living and working in Africa, building relationships and focusing on elevating Ugandan coffee. Despite being the founder, Benjamin is quick to emphasize that Cahoots is not about him—it’s about the farmers, the cherry pickers, and the station workers who make this coffee possible.

Kamogo is part of Cahoots’ newer initiatives (est. 2024), operating out of Kapyoma Washing Station in Kapchorwa Town on the slopes of Mt. Elgon. The inaugural harvest exceeded expectations but brought major challenges. A sharp increase in global C-Market prices drove cherry prices in Uganda to historic highs, resulting in both higher financial risk and more variable cherry quality. Add to that limited drying space and unpredictable mountain weather, and the team had to hustle—moving coffee between multiple drying sites while maintaining strict quality standards.

Remarkably, the result was coffees that were clean, sweet, and beautifully processed, reflecting both precision and determination.

This lot uses a method that producer Pranoy refers to as Culture Washed, a technique that begins before the cherries are even picked. A fermentation “starter” is created by submerging cherries in water—much like building a sourdough culture—collecting a lively population of native bacteria and yeasts.

Once active, the cherries are removed, leaving only the microbial-rich liquid. Freshly pulped coffee is then combined with this starter in a fermentation tank, allowing fermentation to begin rapidly and uniformly. After about 18 hours, the seeds are washed through grading channels, placed on drip tables, and dried slowly for around three weeks in a parabolic solar dryer.

The result is a washed coffee with exceptional cleanliness yet an unusually deep sweetness and fruit character—beautiful, expressive.