Ugandan firms awarded for quality coffee

Kampala

Two Ugandan coffee firms have scooped awards for trading quality coffee at the 2012 National Taste of Harvest Competition, an annual event organised to promote the crop.

The firms, National Union of Agribusinesses and Farm Enterprise (Nucafe) won four of the five awards that were contested for by firms dealing in Robusta coffee, while Kawacom emerged best in Arabica coffee.

Coffee is one of Uganda’s key foreign exchange earners. The commodity has overtime benefited from a number of efforts to increase its production and value addition. According to the organisers, Eastern African Fine Coffees Association (EAFCA) and Uganda Coffee Development Authority, 80 companies, including seven from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) offered samples for evaluation in a competition that was held from January 16 to 20.

The competitors included farmers, producers, millers and exporters. The coffees samples were evaluated against key attributes including; fragrance/aroma, flavor, aftertaste, acidity, body, uniformity, balance and sweetness among others.

jmiti@ug.nationmedia.com