One of Uganda’s finest coffee roaster and seller of premium specialty coffee beans, Bushbucks Coffee, has made its maiden coffee consignment to Japan as it looks to expand its footprint in the global market.
In a flagship event yesterday at their head office, Bushbucks Coffee handed over a consignment of 34 boxes of roasted coffee to DHL Global Forwarding for further shipment to Japan. Bushbucks Coffee now adds Japan to their other existing foreign markets like the U.S. and U.K where it is already selling its range of roasted coffee.
“As a brand that prides in a meticulous process and stringent quality control measures which results in a premium coffee experience for our consumers, the entry of Bushbucks Coffee into the Japanese market is yet another milestone in ensuring we get Uganda’s unique coffee to as many tables across the globe,” said Mr. Chirag Pandya, Director, Bushbucks Coffee.
He also added that the guidance and support they received from Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) in choosing the right Coffee beans, developing roast profiles and different platforms to showcase their products, has played an important role in the brand’s story.
Bushbucks Coffee’s premium blend of Espresso and Nyasaland variety of Arabica Coffee is now available to not only the Ugandan consumers but also coffee lovers in New York, London and Tokyo. The products, according to the producer, will be available in local retail outlets and cafes in Tokyo from the 1st week of November 2021 onwards.
Bushbucks Coffee derives its name from indigenous species of antelopes -the Bushbucks, with geometrically shaped white patches or spots on the most mobile parts of its body – found on the slopes of Mt. Elgon. This speaks to the brand’s geographical identity and traceability, that is home to its original Green Coffee beans.
Coffee lovers in Uganda and abroad can now enjoy a variety of Bushbucks coffee packed in its slick 250g and 500g pouches at an affordable price. Besides the fine ground coffee, consumers can as well order for whole bean coffee.
Bushbucks Coffee also works directly with farmers in facilitating some of the processes like milling the coffee which automatically increases the farmer’s income given that they are paid at an international rate and a premium on top of every yield.
Bushbucks Coffee has provided a livelihood for hundreds of coffee farmers in Bugisu sub-region in Eastern Uganda, who are involved in selectively picking the coffee cherries, sorting them into different quality categories and processing the coffee.
Nyasaland coffee, which is one of Africa’s oldest Arabica coffee varieties and Bushbucks’ flagship coffee blend, gives good results when fully washed. This coffee has great balance, fine acidity, good body, chocolate overtones, citric and floral notes.
Mr. Pandya explains that working closely with the farming communities is critical in broadening the understanding on the Nyasaland variety’s characteristics while discovering more about its cultivation and processing techniques.
The value chain also involves preservation, value addition and quality control, all of which have created opportunities for local households to earn income sustainably.
“Our mission is to bring together the efforts of all those who worked on the taste of the cup. From validating the efforts of the farmers, pickers, those who processed, sorted and graded the coffee, cuppers and roasters,” Mr. Pandya adds.
Africa’s second-largest coffee producer after Ethiopia, Uganda exported 6.4 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee worth $607.8 million in the last 12 months (September 2020 to August 2021) compared to 5.2 million bags valued at $502.2 million in the previous year. This represents a 22.9 percent and 21 percent year-on-year increase in both quantity and value respectively. There was an increase of 34.8 percent and 63 percent in quantity and value in Uganda’s exports of Robusta and Arabica respectively in August this year compared to August 2020.
UCDA says the increase in Robusta exports during the month of August compared to the previous year was due to favorable weather and a positive trend in global coffee prices in the month of July and August as Brazil, the world’s largest producer of coffee, faced the threat of frost, which prompted exporters to release their stocks.
