The Amaha awe Uganda is a coffee in the Reviving Origin series from Nespresso. The name means ‘Hope of Uganda’ in Lhukonzo. It is issued per 2020 for both the original line machine and the Vertuo line machine (review here). This review concerns the first which recommended serving size is either as – our recommendation – espresso (40 ml, 1.35 oz) or lungo (110 ml, 3.7 oz.). We start with the first impression and background but if you like you can jump straight to the taste review here.
Note that the Vertuo Line version has a lower intensity rating which is an indication that these flavours differ per machine.
Origin
For coffee in the Reviving Origin series more attention is drawn to the source and sustainability. In this case this is Uganda, or officially: the Republic of Uganda. This central-east African country is land-locked, but it has some noticeable lakes (including lake Victoria). Uganda is separated from the Indian Sea on the east side by Kenia and Tanzania, other neighbouring countries are Congo-Kinshasa (a.k.a. DRC), South Sudan and Rwanda. Read more on Uganda on the Uganda wiki.
Coffee is one of the main export products of Uganda. For this coffee, the beans are grown on the Rwenzori Mountains in the south-west part of the country. The top regions of this mountain range, which is on the border of Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), are permanently snow-capped. Abundant rainfall, glaciers and rivers provide for sufficient water for the coffee plants to grow on fertile mountain soil. The rivers originating here form one of the sources of the Nile, therefore some refer to these mountain range as Mountains of the Moon (wiki).
You can find a short video (3 min) by National Geographic (paid by Nespresso) about the coffee here. The video gives you an idea of the geography and the programme by Nespresso. The associated article details the logic of the programme: instead of bulk picking and payment, a more selective picking of ripe berries is rewarded, Nespresso (and customers) get a better quality and the farmers a premium price. The related pictures are also well-done, link.
Nespresso partners with Agri Evolve for the RO programme in Uganda, their Instagram page gives for even more pictures around this coffee.
Looks
For the reviving origin series, the sleeves stand out. Most Nespresso sleeves have black as dominant colour, with colour reserved only for highlights and the top opening. The capsules in these series are kept in bright coloured and decorated sleeves. The background colour of the sleeve is yellow, which is one of the colours of the flag of Uganda and might also be a hint the fruitiness and light intensity. The sleeves are decorated with a pattern that could represent suns or round braided baskets to carry the beans. It also brings up associations with geometrical patterns that are associated with the African continent.
As with some other limited editions, especially those where the origin is at the centre such as Jamaica Blue Mountain, a white box is used to print the brand and flavour name. As said earlier, this brings up associations of being part of a collection (like a museum) or curated items like exclusive parfum or pharmacy items.
The capsules within the Reviving Origin series all have the same black background, with a grey coloured scattered dot pattern. This reminds of a night sky, but could just as easily represent a fertile soil or the troubled (dark) history that the reviving origin series share. For this flavour a gold font is used, strengthening even more the associating with hope – a “golden future”. The recommended serving size is not featured on the seal. There is some confusion about the recommended serving sizes, the sleeve seem to indicate ristretto (yellow highlighted). However, the Nespresso site clarifies that this is a misinterpretation, it should be interpreted as ristretto is “greyed out” and espresso and lungo are the recommended brew sizes.
Smell and Taste
We refer to the manufacturers notes, when we taste the coffee:
rich and clean espresso
Nespresso site and packaging.
wild character
hard-to-find sandalwood notes and elegant florals
The coffee has an intensity of 8. This indicates a medium intensity coffee. As espresso it’s peers would be Roma and Venezia from the Inspirazione Italia series or Istanbul Espresso from World Explorations. As a lungo M.O. Indonesia and Stockholm lungo have a comparable intensity.
The coffee has a distinct aroma, sweet and sour. This reminds a bit of other coffees with fruity aromas such as La Cumplida Refinada and Toccanto, but this aroma is less extreme. There are also sandalwood elements to the smell (seem to be more prominent with an espresso pour), which we would not have recognized if Nespresso hadn’t made us aware and we were able to confirm this with some home fragrance sticks. Overall, the sweet, mild and somewhat sour smells bring up associations with flowers.
The colourful elements of the aroma return in the taste: a combination of sweetness, acidity and bitterness (all mild) give this coffee a playful character. As espresso this works well against the backdrop of a moderate body. As lungo, the substance gets a bit too watery to carry the flavours. What stands out for this coffee is that it is sweet, not overly sweet, and sour at the same time – giving a bit of a fruity character. It is a bit bitter, which gives for a bit of a dry mouthfeel. The bitterness and acid notes remain dominant on a dry aftertaste that lingers in the mouth for a while, not in an unpleasant way.
Nespresso further suggest to drink this as a Latte Macchiato: “In a Latte Macchiato, the biscuit and discrete fruity notes come alive in a balanced and sweet cup.” This is something we tried for Vertuo and we were not blown away, so for the original line version we are saving our capsules to drink them as black espresso.
Overall we feel Amaha awe Uganda is a decent speciality coffee that is best enjoyed as espresso.
Read more on the Nespresso site, more info on the RO Uganda sustainable efforts.
Read the review for Amaha awe Uganda for Vertuo line here.