What began with one shrub is now a coffee family.
Three generations of Ugandan coffee farming, from a single Lukone shrub in Kasese to a full value chain across Uganda and Zambia.
One shrub, planted along a village path.
Kakone Coffee is a third-generation, family-founded specialty coffee enterprise rooted in three of Uganda's most legendary growing regions: the Rwenzori and Elgon highlands for Arabica, and Mubende in Central Uganda for Premium Robusta.
What began with one Lukone coffee shrub, planted by our great-grandfather along a village path in Kasese, has grown into a coffee enterprise spanning the full value chain — farming, climate-smart agronomy, seedling nurseries, aggregation, roasting, cupping and markets across Uganda and Zambia.
Our grandfather, Mr Kakone Paul, firmly believed that quality coffee has the power to transform the livelihood of a household and, by extension, the future of an entire community. Through coffee, he educated all his children through primary school to university level, and supported many others in Kasese, a city in Western Uganda nestled at the foothills of the Rwenzori mountains. Today, those same values, principles and belief he instilled in us are the foundation upon which we run Kakone Coffee farms globally.
“Every cup educates a child.” A portion of every bag sold funds school fees, books, uniforms and learning materials for children in our coffee-growing communities.
From family heritage to a registered coffee company.
1993 — Family Roots
Kakone Coffee has been growing and championing Ugandan coffee since 1993 — a family tradition of farming passed down through generations, long before it became a formal company.
2018 – 2025 — Formal Incorporation
That family heritage was formalised as a company — established in 2018 and fully incorporated in 2025 as BHK Kakone Group Limited, 100% Ugandan-owned, working directly with over 2,000 smallholder farmers organised into registered cooperatives.
Origin of our coffee.
Premium Robusta — Mubende. Grown in Kanseera, Mubende, in the basin of Lake Victoria, at 1,320 metres above sea level — the heartland of Ugandan coffee. Full-bodied, with excellent crema stability and dark chocolate notes.
Rwenzori & Elgon Arabica. Mountain-grown on the slopes of Kasese, where the Kakone family story began, and in the Elgon region near Mbale. High altitude and volcanic soils give a bright, complex acidity with floral and citrus notes.
Own estates + outgrower network. Farm operations combine our own estate blocks with a growing network of trained outgrower smallholders, managed under a single quality and traceability standard — from cherry to cup.
Coffee seedling nursery operations.
Seed Selection
Certified, disease-resistant Robusta seed and clonal material.
Germination & Potting
Seedlings raised under shade netting in controlled nursery beds.
Shade Management & Hardening-Off
Seedlings gradually acclimatised before field transplanting.
Distribution
Strong, true-to-type seedlings supplied to our own farms, other farms and outgrower households.
Climate-smart farming & solar irrigation.
Shade-Tree Agroforestry
Native Mugavu (Albizia coriaria) and other shade species protect soil, moderate microclimate and support biodiversity across our Rwenzori and Mubende blocks.
Solar-Powered Drip Irrigation
Farm-level drip and fertigation systems, sized for coffee and solar-pumped, are being deployed to build resilience against shifting rainfall — informed by our work with Optimum Earth Foundation on agricultural water systems.
Soil & Water Conservation
Contour planting, mulching and organic inputs protect soil health on mountain slopes and forest-belt plots alike.
EUDR & Traceability
GPS-mapped plots with deforestation-free verification keep our supply chain compliant with EU Deforestation Regulation requirements.
Coffee 4 Climate — our outgrower & agroforestry programme.
An agroforestry and outreach programme training smallholder outgrowers on sustainable farming, shade management and EUDR-aligned practices across Central Uganda.
Through our Each One Teach One programme, we host farmers and partners at our Mubende model farm for hands-on sessions covering garden preparation, tree care, pest and disease management, harvesting, intercropping and agribusiness — and encourage every participant to train others in turn.
Programme targets: 1 million regenerative shade trees and 15,700 farmers trained across Central Uganda.
Value addition: roasting & quality.
Roasting
Green coffee is roasted in carefully profiled small batches — medium for Arabica's floral brightness, medium-dark for Robusta's body and dark chocolate depth.
Cupping & QC
Every roast batch passes a structured sensory evaluation — aroma, flavour, acidity, body and aftertaste — before release.
Four Product Lines
Robusta, Arabica, a crafted Blend, and Mulondo — each showcasing the character of our growing origins.
Our leadership & team structure.
A lean core team, with field roles added as we take on more farms — every one of them can be scaled up or down to a project's size.
Three external advisory boards guide strategy, coffee operations and finance & compliance, and advise the Managing Director without a command role. The Managing Director owns the P&L and vision, with nine department managers reporting directly, each with their own unit leads. In Year 1, one person may hold more than one seat as the team scales with farm size — field labour (planters, weeders, pruning and harvest hands) is hired per project under the Farm Manager.
Our alliances & partners.
We work alongside development, research and conservation partners on farmer training, agroforestry, irrigation and climate resilience.
NaCORI (National Coffee Research Institute) is the NARO-Kituza body behind the KR clonal varieties we plant and recommend. MAAIF is Uganda's Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. iSDA Virtual Agronomist supports soil and advisory data for our farm planning. Optimum Earth Foundation and EcoLakes International partner with us on agricultural water systems, agroforestry and rural resilience programmes.
Want to see it for yourself?
Visit our farm and warehouse in Mubende, or explore our services and product range.
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