How we Work
Pursuing better business means valuing the people and nature behind every product. Zinule was founded to create a better model that serves future generations of both producers and consumers.
Post-Harvest Processing
Cherries are sourced and bought from smallholders in specific small villages and communities from about 6 sub-counties of Buginyanya, Bumugibole, Masira, Bufumbo, Lusha, Bulago in Bulambuli district.
Harvest and cherry selection
The cherries are either bought at small collection centers or delivered directly to the washing station. Then, cherries are sorted and depending on the process, these will be taken either to the pulping area for washed coffees or to the yard down in Mbale for drying. Sometimes, cherries can also be delivered directly to the yard for sorting and drying.
Fermentation
For washed coffees they are pulped, and the parchment fermented in traditional tanks. For naturals the cherries are normally fermented on the drying tables managed by adjusting layers according to the type of prep and fermentation we want. We also experiment with cherries fermented in bags or buckets before being dried in thin layers on raised beds.
Drying and hand-sorting
For the regular preparation of washed, the cherries are dried on beds in a parabolic drying tent on raised beds at the washing station.
For naturals at the yard, it’s a mix of beds under shade and under the sun. The coffees are moved frequently and they will be heaped and covered during the hottest hours of the day to protect the cherries from intense sunlight, then again at night to protect against humidity. This creates a slow and homogenous drying process which adds to the coffee’s quality. Drying naturals with this method and in this environment takes between 15 to 20 days.
