Intent Coffee Roasting Kabum Uganda Single Origin Espresso

Intent Kabum Espresso Uganda

I don’t see many coffees from Uganda, but this one was a big favorite of Intent Coffee Roasting’s Mark Johnson. I first tried this coffee back in May 2015 after visiting Mark in Portland, OR and he sent me a bag he had roasted for espresso recently, too. This coffee came from the Kabum cooperative near the Mt. Elgon area of Uganda. Unfortunately this coffee is now sold out, but I wanted to share my experience with you all the same!

Single origin espresso can be a tricky thing because they can be hard to tame. A really sweet coffee may be too sweet. A bright, fruity coffee may take the enamel right off your teeth when it’s prepared as espresso! Etc. There is a reason why espresso is quite often a blend of multiple coffees. Blending allows the roaster to balance the flavors out and tame some of them. That being said, single origin espressos can be a lot of fun to drink and it’s amazing to see how a coffee differs as espresso vs. pourover or other preparation methods.

Now that I’m re-reading my original review of this coffee, I do remember trying it as espresso since it was roasted a little more dark. I feel like I got the same flavors this time around, too. Lots of nuts in the cup and there was a lot of salted caramel notes. Saltiness is often a sign of underextraction, but I was getting a super thick body and crema that was just shy of stiff peaks, so I don’t think that was a problem! There was a bit of cherry in the flavor, too, but these shots were really all about sweetness, body and salted caramel with a hint of smoke. Really nicely roasted and it’s a shame (although, also great!) that Intent is all sold out of this one! Hopefully we’ll see a return of the Kabum!