The Pearl of Africa

Is it possible to overstate the importance of the East Africa Rift System to coffee-lovers? On that distant ridge of tropical peaks and highlands, zig-zagging from Sinai to Zimbabwe, the coffee plant made its botanical debut. There, at the edge of the continent, the best of it still thrives.

East of Lake Victoria and Mount Elgon (4,321 m), where the Equator meets the Rift, lie the celebrated Kenya coffee lands. To the West of Elgon lies the lesser-known Bugisu (Boo-gih-shoo), Uganda’s premier growing region. Read more