The Best of the Pearl Competition

“The coffees were extremely clean and sweet with an amazing flavour. It was a privilege to have tasted such coffees from Uganda,” said an impressed Jordon Dabov, jury member from Bulgaria at a recent coffee competition.

In an effort to promote Uganda’s finest coffees and ensure their visibility in the international market, the Uganda Coffee Federation (UCF) in partnership with Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) through EAC MARKUP, organised a competition judged by a national jury and an international jury that joined remotely.

The results of the international round of the cupping competition brought a great win for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The top three coffees in each category – naturals, washed and honeys –were coffees from SMEs that have been receiving support from ITC initiatives through EAC MARKUP. Full results are available here.

Naturals - Kawacom Sipi Falls Anaerobic Natural

Washed - Mountain Harvest Coffee

Honeys - Masha Coffee

Best of the Pearl competition started in February 2021 and will culminate with an online auction for the best Ugandan specialty coffees on 19 May 2021. The online auction has been organized with the technical support of Sensible Development.

Overcoming COVID-19 travel restrictions, after a first national cupping round last month, an international jury gathered via Zoom. 16 international Q Graders (accredited coffee cuppers) based in 11 different countries, gathered online and assessed the 13 preselected coffees ahead of the upcoming online auction. The international jurors shortlisted the final line-up of coffees, and ranked them based on their quality, prior to the international auction.

Great results await Ugandan coffee producers at the auction.