3rd Month

This is my 3rd month here in Uganda, and so far it has been very exciting, time is going by fast and i cant believe its been this long already. This blog im writing will be divided in to 2 parts, I will explain why. On thursday night Edmund  told me to pack a bag for a 3 day travel to the source of where our coffee comes from, which is east of Uganda on the border of Uganda and Kenya, a 3 hour drive from Kampala. Ed informs me that there will be a short meeting and then we will visit some of the factories that produce and manufacture coffee as well as the farmers and their farms where the coffee grows. Naturally i was extremely excited, i mean to learn about coffee is one  thing but to actually go to the source and interact with farmers and traders is another thing. That night i packed a small bag, i was so excited i couldnt sleep. but i think eventually i managed to fall asleep and woke up around 6:30 am, Ed had arranged a driver for us but as usual he was late so we didnt get to leave till about 8 am. Now, i said earlier that this story was going to be divided in to 2 parts, here is why, first i am going to tell you about the business part (with pictures of course) then i will tell you my personal experience of beauty that i saw.
After a 3 hour drive we arrive to a town called Mbale, this town is on the foothills of ugandas, highest mountain and africas 17th tallest peak called Mt. Elgon. (which i will get to in the next part), this town is know for its coffee trade, because Mt Elgon was a volcanic mountain, the soil, cool climate, and the constant rain creates the ultimate conditions for growing and  harvesting the coffee bean. This particular region is called the BUGISU region and it is why this coffee is known around the world as a one of the best coffee beans produced (the Bugisu AA is the highest value coffee traded on the market today), but last seasons crop was not up to standards as far as UCDA is concerned and that is why we are here, to discuss these issues, the bugisu is known for certain traits and UCDA is seeing that trait starting to slip. I would like to explain more but it is very technical, for those of you who dont care skip this part and go to then next. Coffee is very complex and very delicate at the same time. Bugisu coffee is know for its mild acidity and bold chocolate taste, but recently this acidity has been going down, now why is acidity so important? when i say acidity most people refer to the acidic taste from a lime or orange, sort of a sour, salty taste, but in coffee it also has to do with the sweetness. if an orange did not have a a sweetness to it you would now eat right? so acidity goes hand to hand with the sweetness of the coffee. This acidity comes naturally from the phosphoric soils of Mt. Elgon, but during processing ( and i mean not processing the raw coffee properly) if the delicate bean is not handled properly it will lose its characteristics which makes this particular coffee special. Anyways, me and edmund enter the town hall and there was about 50 people there waiting for edmund, farmers, traders, and exporters, i was just there to observe, even though im there to purchase 2 tons of coffee to bring back with me in December. Basically this meeting was about a warning that UCDA was giving to everyone regarding harmful practices coffee farmers, traders, and exporters where involved in. I wont get into details but Edmund clearly stated that if the procedures where not followed UCDA has the authority and mandate to shut down operations of a certain factory if standards are not met. It was nice to see the government actually taking steps to protect its most precious commodity which is the Bugisu AA. After the meeting there were alot of questions and concerns which was understandable, but Ed handled it very well. After the meeting we had lunch and ed wanted to make a couple of suprise visits to some factories that he had heard were not up to par with their standards. So we went to a couple of factories and he gave out warnings about some drying methods and told them next time the factory will be shut down. by this time it was late so we decided to find a nice hotel and get some rest because the next day we wanted to visit the actual farms, we ended up staying at a very nice hotel (which i have pictures of) woke up the next day and headed to the mountains. Now this is where i get excited, these mountains are freaking beautiful and we where going to a town called Kapchorwa (11000 ft above sea level) on the way to kapchorwa edmund saw a coffee factory and told the driver to stop, we approached the gate and a security guard inercepted us and would not allow Ed to enter the facility, even after he introduced him self and showed him his government ID card and demanded to open  the gate, the guard refused, ed returned to the car grabbed his UCDA lock and placed it on the gate and ordered the factory shut down, panic started, managers came out pleading and begging to forgive their security guard for being ignorant, so ed removed the lock. i had to tell that story to show people the power that this humble man has. We then proceeded to the city and the peak of the mountain (check out the pictures), man what an nice area, cold, breezy, exactly the way i like it. we talked to a couple of farmers and walked through a farm because i had not seen what a coffee plantation looked like. i took a bunch of pictures and hopefully i can download them. but the real exciting part of the trip was being able to walk through the forest and get on an area where they call Sipi Falls. I put the a couple of pictures up of the place but it does you have to be there to fully enjoy the beauty, its like niagara falls and grand canyon at the same place but not as extreme, but while your walking through jungle you really start appreciating the beauty of nature and how untouched this place really is.  When i got to the falls i was just in shock at first, and its not just one, from what ive been told there are many falls but this particular one is the most famous. everything is green the soil is very fertile, anything could grow here, i picked an avacado from a tree and it was the best avacado i have ever had in my life. being in a place like that changes you, nothing is important anymore, you sit and just enjoy the beauty and calmness of the area. The hike was not easy, we were deep in the mountains, full jungle getting through it all was a challange, but to my surprise, people actually live by this area, no electricity no gas, just nature and water. anyways redskins are about to play and i have to work out so this part for now is over but there are alot more i could write but then it would just be too long to read :)