Abram Kiganda: Redefining Ugandan Coffee & Winning Ugandan Barista Championship 2025 and Africa Barista Championships 2026

Abram Kiganda didn’t just win the 2025 Ugandan Barista Championships and Africa Barista Championships, he delivered a routine that asked a deeper question: are you willing to let go of what is familiar to see what is possible?

As the Ugandan coffee community continues to expand, Abram rose to the top among 50 passionate competitors. His performance was an invitation to all who cross the coffee threshold into self-discovery.

Driven by curiosity and shaped by reflection, Abram’s journey into coffee began while studying Biotechnology. With a scientific foundation, he entered coffee not just as a craft, but as a space for discovery. Now serving as Processing Manager at Mountain Harvest, Abram is not chasing the perfect cup for his own sake. He is working to shift the narrative of Ugandan coffee and inspire collective growth within his community and beyond. He believes that if we truly answer the self-discovery questions then real change becomes possible.

“When we see clearly, we can create differently,” he says.

Building his competition routine around three pillars, awareness, reflection, and exploration,  Abram invited judges and the audience to consider what truly matters in the cup. He began with awareness, recognising the unique skills, coffees, and people around him, highlighting Uganda’s rich coffee heritage and the innovation of its producers. From there, he moved into reflection, understanding where he had come from, where he is now, and what we must let go of to uncover what truly matters in coffee. He finished with exploration. Abram is daring to imagine a different future for Ugandan coffee, one that continues to push innovation for collective progress, from origin to cup.

“When you understand who you are, you create space to discover what could be,” he says.

The coffee itself reflected this layered thinking. Abram used a hybrid washed SL28 varietal undergoing 12 hours of oxidation followed by 48 hours of anaerobic fermentation. The washed process was completed with an inoculation of PK yeast, building complexity while preserving clarity. The result was a cup designed to express fruit-forward vibrancy with depth and structure.

That experience extended to the way the coffee was presented. Pairing his coffee with Ni Wares dual-lipped Toto espresso cups, Abram guided judges through a sensory journey. The thinner lip expressed vibrant notes of passion fruit and blood orange, highlighting structured acidity and clarity that was developed in the processing. The thicker lip offered a stronger tactile, one that was smooth and silky.

His selection of the Ni Wares dual-lipped Toto espresso cups was not simply for their design, but for their purpose. They allowed him to guide perception, frame reflection, and offer direction to the sensory experience. The cups reflected his layered approach to coffee, demonstrating how exploration can create an entirely new experience. 

He offered the judges space to let go, arrive in the present, and rediscover what truly mattered in the coffee before them. 

We are really proud of Abram’s achievements and for trusting Ni Wares on stage. This story is one of deeper exploration and self-discovery. Well done, congratulations and we look forward to seeing how you continue to shape the Ugandan coffee future.