Lengthy ignored within the specialty sector, Ugandan espresso producers broke data at a Mountain Harvest public sale earlier this month.

BY BHAVI PATEL
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

Images courtesy of Mountain Harvest

What to know:

• From July 6 to eight, 2026, Ugandan espresso producer Mountain Harvest hosted a specialty public sale in London, with a Pure Geisha lot from Rwenzori Property closing at a record-breaking value
• Uganda was chosen as Portrait Nation at World of Espresso Brussels, marking a constructive turning level for Uganda’s espresso sector

Ugandan espresso simply made historical past. Early this month, a specialty public sale known as The Paradigm Shift, hosted by producer Mountain Harvest and public sale home M-Cultivo, drew greater than 1,000 bids and closed with a record-breaking high value of $350.02 USD per kilogram for a Pure Geisha lot from Rwenzori Property Farm. The occasion, which ran from July 6 to July 8, 2026, in London, additionally achieved a weighted common value of $24.32 per kilogram throughout all heaps.

The end result indicators greater than a single successful sale. It marks a turning level for a way the world values espresso grown in Uganda, arriving simply weeks after the nation’s star flip as Portrait Nation at World of Espresso Brussels late final month.

From ignored origin to specialty star

For years, Uganda’s espresso sector operated within the shadow of pricing set removed from its farms. Kenneth Barigye of Mountain Harvest put its plainly: “For many years, the espresso trade has largely requested producers to suit inside a value decided elsewhere. The outcomes of this public sale level to a unique future, one the place worth is created and acknowledged at origin.”

“A highest bid of $350.02 per kilogram, a weighted common value of $24.32 per kilogram, and greater than 1,000 bids aren’t simply industrial milestones; they’re proof that innovation, high quality, transparency, and producer management can reshape how espresso is valued,” provides Kenneth. “That is greater than a profitable public sale. It’s proof that the paradigm has shifted, and that when producers are empowered to innovate, your entire espresso trade advantages.”

That shift didn’t occur by chance. Mountain Harvest was based in 2017 to professionalize each hyperlink in Uganda’s espresso provide chain, from farmer providers and processing to logistics and market engagement. Its first-place win within the 2025 African Advantageous Coffees Affiliation (AFCA) Style of Harvest competitors sparked international purchaser curiosity, however conventional market negotiations struggled to cost specialty espresso pretty. The public sale format gave consumers direct entry to what organizers known as “the opposite facet of Ugandan coffees,” therefore the identify “The Paradigm Shift.”

Consumers take discover, origin takes credit score

The successful bidders, China-based CHG, stated they have been proud to participate in what they known as a historic second for Ugandan espresso. David Paparelli, CEO of M-Cultivo, stated auctions can reshape how markets understand origins like Uganda, including that the nation’s potential to develop distinctive Arabica had merely taken too lengthy to be acknowledged at this stage.

That recognition builds on actual momentum. Uganda spent June 2026 because the featured Portrait Nation at World of Espresso Brussels, Europe’s largest specialty espresso commerce occasion, the place it launched its first nationwide espresso model, “Uganda Espresso: It’s in Our Nature.” Uganda exported 8.78 million 60-kilogram luggage of espresso price $2.38 billion within the 12 months to April 2026, up 22 % in quantity yr over yr, cementing its standing as Africa’s main espresso exporter.

A paradigm price watching

Between a record-setting public sale lot and a headline slot on Europe’s greatest espresso stage, Uganda’s specialty sector is proving it belongs in the identical dialog because the world’s most celebrated origins. With specialty espresso nonetheless representing a small share of nationwide output, the nation’s ceiling seems removed from reached. If The Paradigm Shift is any indication, consumers, roasters, and producers alike have purpose to maintain watching Uganda intently within the seasons forward.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bhavi Patel is a meals author specializing in espresso and tea, and a brand-building specialist with a background in dairy know-how and an curiosity in culinary historical past and sensory notion of meals.

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