Uganda · east
The traditional name for arabica from Mount Elgon, farmed by the Bagisu people. Winey and full-bodied, and undervalued.
Bugisu — sometimes Bugishu — is the traditional trade name for arabica grown on the Ugandan side of Mount Elgon, farmed by the Bagisu people.
Winey and full-bodied with blackcurrant and dark fruit, and a softer acidity than Kenyan coffee from the other side of the same geology.
Uganda uses some of the same SL varieties as Kenya, which is part of the resemblance.
Uganda’s reputation is a robusta reputation — it is Africa’s largest coffee exporter and overwhelmingly a robusta producer. Elgon arabica is sold into a market that does not expect it, and prices are well below Kenyan equivalents.
Both washed and natural. Washing station infrastructure has improved substantially, and naturals have become more common and better made.
Bugisu Co-operative Union is one of Africa’s oldest, founded in 1954.
Filter or immersion at light to medium roast.
The equipment this actually requires — not a shopping list, the shortest route to doing it properly.
60° cone · spiral ribs · 1–4 cups
The most transparent cup you can brew for twenty euros, and the least forgiving. Ceramic holds heat where plastic does not — and the open bottom means your pour, not the dripper, decides the coffee.
Best for: Someone who wants to taste what a single-origin coffee is actually doing.
≈ $25 / £20 / 22 €
64 mm flat burr · filter only · single dose
64 mm flat burrs, near-zero retention and a footprint the size of a mug, built for filter and honest about not doing espresso. For pour-over it is the clearest grind you can buy at this price.
Best for: V60, Chemex, AeroPress and batch brewing, where clarity is the whole point.
≈ $345 / £275 / 300 €
0.9 L · ±1 °C hold · counterbalanced gooseneck
The best-pouring kettle sold, and the hold function matters more than the thermometer. Expensive for boiling water — but if you brew pour-over daily, it is the accessory that most improves the cup.
Best for: Daily pour-over, where flow rate is the variable you are trying to control.
≈ $195 / £165 / 180 €
