Ugandan coffee a hit in foreign markets but shunned at home

Uganda coffee.

Joel Kaburu, who runs Uganda Coffee Tours, packages coffee for tourists to buy as souvenirs. PHOTO | GILBERT MWIJUKE | NMG

On a sunny morning, Nasser Mutesasira distributes free packets of processed coffee to farmers who sell coffee beans to his company for processing.

“I’m giving you this coffee so that you can taste your own produce,” says Mutesasira, who buys coffee beans from 991 farmers in the hilly terrains of Kapchorwa, Bulambuli, Mbale and Bududa.