Robusta coffee

Robusta is at home in Uganda – it grows wild in the forests around Lake Victoria, and the country is its largest exporter in Africa.

A shrub or small tree growing to 10 m, native to the forests of West and Central Africa. Compared with arabica it is more resistant to disease and heat and gives heavier yields, and its beans contain almost twice as much caffeine. It produces a strong, bitter, full-bodied coffee used in espresso blends and instant coffee. It bursts into white flower after the rains, and its fruits ripen to a deep red.

Significance in the country

Uganda is one of the centres of origin of robusta – wild populations grow in the Kibale and Mabira forests – and Africa’s second-largest coffee producer after Ethiopia; coffee is the country’s most important export, grown by more than a million families.

Where it grows

Mainly in the belt around Lake Victoria – in the Central Region (Masaka, Mukono, Luwero, Mubende), in the west (Bushenyi, Ibanda, Kibaale) and in the east (Jinja, Iganga, Kamuli).

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