The coffee in this micro-lot is produced by the farmers on the mountain above The Coffee Gardens washing station. The farmers bring the coffee cherries down to the processing station themselves, earning extra income. Coffee is delivered to the station and sorted by 4 employees dedicated to this job. The coffee is pulped and then soaked in cold mountain water, before being submerged in tanks for a 40-hour signature fermentation. The coffee is then washed, removing any floating cherries to be discarded, then transferred for skin drying on raised beds in the shade for 2-3 days. After this, the coffee is put into a solar drier where it will continue to dry for 10 days until it reaches between 15-25% moisture content, depending on the time of the season and local weather. At this stage the coffee is then transported down the hill to The Coffee Gardens drying yard in Mbale, where it is dried down for another 10 days to reach 11% moisture content, before it is left to rest and then prepared for milling and shipping. The Coffee Gardens Project has been established with many purposes, such as to improve farmers income and livelihoods, create and provide rural employment, promote gender equality, increase transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain, promote and work on environmental protection in the area and provide farmer training in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).

Falcon Coffees

This coffee was sourced through Falcon North America. It is the belief of Falcon Coffees that “coffee provides us all with a unique opportunity to contribute to sustainable smallholder agriculture”. Great socio-economic change can happen through improving the quality of coffee. When coffee quality increases, farmers receive premium prices, which is then reinvested into producing better crops. And when farmers are paid well, this will encourage better social and environmental practises. 

Our mission and values at Bridge City inform every decision that we make in the coffee industry. Bridge City will not commoditize people along the supply chain, and Falcon Coffees gives us the confidence we need to move forward with green buying. For more information on the values of Falcon Coffees, check out the three pillars of their Blueprint Project that addressenvironmental stewardship,social upliftment, andgood governance.