For this year’s Christmas Blend we’re showcasing two natural process coffees from neighbouring East African origins, Rwanda and Uganda. Not only do these coffees taste delicious but they also have great positive impacts in their local communities. From Rwanda we have old favourite, Kinini Natural, bringing fruit flavours like cranberry, sultanas and apricot. From Uganda, we have a producer that we started to work with just this year. This lot is the Karambi from Rwenzori Coop, a clean and balanced natural with subtle fruit flavours and sweet, caramel and milk chocolate notes with a hint of hazelnut.
Uganda Karambi
Founded in 2015, Agri Evolve is a profit-for-purpose social enterprise based in the Rwenzori Mountains of western Uganda. Working directly with smallholder farmers, it aims to improve coffee quality, increase yields and strengthen rural livelihoods. Through its “ACE 2030” programme—focused on Agriculture, Community and Environment—the organisation provides training, promotes transparent trade and connects farmers to better markets. At the same time, it supports reforestation, soil conservation and climate-resilient farming by establishing tree nurseries and restoring degraded land. In this way, the Karambi Natural lot represents more than just a coffee—it reflects Agri Evolve’s wider mission to uplift farmers, empower communities and protect the fragile mountain ecosystem they call home.
Rwanda Kinini
Located in the hills of the Rulindo District of Rwanda, the Kinini Cooperative was established in partnership with the charity A New Beginning in 2008 and formally launched its coffee operations in 2012. From the outset the project sought to empower local farmers—approximately 85% of them women—through access to land, seedlings, training and transparent market access. On the environmental side, Kinini has invested in sustainable practices including worm-composting, organic fertilisers and water-treatment systems at its washing station to reduce pollution and boost long-term soil health. By linking high-quality specialty coffee production with community development and ecological care, the cooperative has created a model in which farmer livelihoods and landscape resilience mutually support each other.
