The rising star

An emerald jungle sprinkled with a constellation of rivers and lakes. The source of the mighty river Nile. A green ocean of wavy hills interrupted by golden sheets of savannah where wildlife thrives.

No wonder Winston Churchill gave Uganda the title "The Pearl of Africa".

Uganda is a tropical paradise surrounded by high mountains, where coffee of great quality can be found. Both strong Robusta and mild Arabica varieties are grown here. Typically sweet tasting, with notes of blackberries and a vibrant acidity.

Despite a troubled history of exploitation and wars, today Uganda is rising up as a specialty coffee producer thanks to brilliant farmers that are working on innovative process to get the best from their coffee beans.

The Pearl of Africa is Wild's home base: an ideal location among the best coffee origins of Africa. 

Uganda is also one of the least developed nations in the world, making the potential for the impact of our business significant.

Great coffee. Great poverty.

With the shape of a heart, and a location in the geographical centre of the continent, Burundi really is the heart of Africa.

Burundi shows better than any other country the effects of the colonial structures of the coffee industry. Despite tea and coffee contributing 90% of their export income, almost all Burundians live in poverty: Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a GDP per capita of around $300.

This is incredible considering Burundi has perfect conditions for growing superb coffee - mainly Bourbon Arabica.

With such nice coffee, dominated by fruity and juicy berry notes, carefully processed using the washing method, the income should be way higher. But the farmers are at the mercy of the rules and prices of the international coffee market.

The only hope for the 650.000 families depending on coffee farming for survival is to find buyers who will let them enjoy a larger share of the value potential of their coffee.

Also known as The Heart of Darkness

Few countries have suffered as violently from colonisation as DR Congo. As the private colony of King Leopold of Belgium, unspeakable horrors took place. Still today, the country is suffering the consequences of this exploitation. 

Under the Belgian rule the industry was organised in big plantations where large quantities of poor quality coffee were grown for export. The local population were often exploited, basically employed as slaves, struggling to survive. 

Paradoxally, when the colonialist left, the situation got even worse: the whole coffee industry collapsed as the country was left without expertise and resources.                            

With time, family owned farms and small cooperatives has been organised, rebuilding the coffee industry from the ashes.

Today, even if the political situation is still far from stable, DR Congo is one of the most promising countries for quality specialty coffee, thanks to the unique geography and the rich volcanic soil that gives the cup a rich body and sweet fruity notes. 

Where the goats gave the gift to mankind

Though hard to pin down exactly, Ethiopia is widely recognised as the birthplace of coffee. 

According to legend, it was here that the shepherd Kaldi, with the help of his goats, first discovered the potential of these beloved beans.

The Ethiopian coffee regions are famous all over the world: Harrar, Yirgacheffe, Sidama - producing coffees characterised by rich, uncommon and complex notes of citrus, flowers and fruits. 

Ethiopia is one of the few African countries where coffee production and consumption are equally important. Because of this, coffee is their primary national sector. Everything is strictly organised and regulated, which unfortunately often translates into excess red tape and low traceability. 

It can therefore be challenging to find traceable single origin coffee showing the farmers behind the coffee. Though progress is being made to improve this.

A detour around the world

When you think of Africa, you are probably imagining Kenya: a wide golden savannah teeming with wildlife at the slopes of majestic mountains such as Mount Kenya, or the most famous one: Kilimanjaro, at the border with Tanzania. 

Maybe seconds only to Ethiopian one in terms of fame, Kenyan coffee is renowned among experts for its unique characteristics, usually having rich aromas, a strong body and a marked acidity with undertones of blackcurrant.

Although very close to the origin of coffee, coffee farming started relatively late in Kenya. It took 500 years to arrive from Ethiopia - what a weird detour it made traveling all around the world! 

As for many others African countries the industry was organised to maximise the coloniser's profit. Until independence the wealthy Europeans banned the locals from growing coffee. 

Redemption coffee

With an average altitude of 1,598 m (5,243 ft), rich volcanic soil, abundant rainfall forming thousand of steams running down the endless rolling hills, and an all year long mild weather, Rwanda has perfect conditions for growing rich, complex tasting coffee.

But it hasn't always been like this: under colonial rule export was monopolised by the Europeans and no incentive was given to produce more than average quality coffee in large quantities. 

After the horrors of the 1994 genocide, coffee became a symbol of redemption for Rwanda.

The first washing station was build in 2004, and today there are more than 300 around the country. 

Expert processing makes the difference in terms of complexity: their rich washed Arabica can offers a fresh bouquet of fruity notes, which tends to apple and grapes. Flowery notes are also common thanks to the altitude.

Ancient traditions

According to oral tradition, coffee arrived in Tanzania from Ethiopia in the 16th century, introduced by the Haya people, who used to chew the smoked berries instead of drinking it.

Coffee faming was done differently compared to colonial wishes, so when the Germans and later the English tried to impose large estate coffee farming in Tanzania, they encountered resistance. 

Today, Tanzania produces around 70% Arabica and 30% Robusta, but still struggle to reach the quantities of its neighbouring countries. 

Still, Tanzanian coffee is very interesting, with marked acidity and typical fruity notes that tends to red berries.