The MAD! Founders Story

Meet our MAD! Founder, Sam (left below), who despite his habit of getting sun burnt, loves spending his time exploring new coffee farms, meeting the local communities and generally just being outdoors, going MAD!, on the water or in the mountains (when he can!). 
 

  

 It all started with a simple cup of coffee... and a moment of contemplation. As I was enjoying my morning brew, I began to wonder about the journey this cup of coffee had taken to arrive on my desk in London. At that point, coffee was just a small pleasure and a welcome distraction from my mundane daily routine.

I was working in Health & Wellbeing tech at the time, a sector close to my heart. However, I felt disillusioned and unfulfilled with the corporate world and started to realise that exploring local coffee shops was the highlight of my day. So with that, I decided to pack in the desk job, driven by the idea of combining coffee with health & wellbeing. I now needed a plan!
 
 
After dreaming of visiting Africa for years, I found myself drawn to Uganda, a place of lush landscapes, incredible wildlife, and wonderful culture... and delicious coffee! As I arrived to watch the sun rise over Lake Victoria and met the welcoming locals, it became clear why Uganda is known as "The Pearl of Africa". I'd made the right choice!
 
 
I spent my first few months volunteering with the Foundation for Sustainable Community-Based Development (FSD) in Eastern Uganda to learn about the coffee gardens, living with a local family and working with the rural coffee farmers to help diversify and improve their agricultural output, as well as supporting their communities in creating Village Lending and Saving Associations (VSLAs).
 
 
As I journeyed through the coffee gardens of Uganda, I reflected on my earlier wonderings, about the stories behind the coffee that I was drinking back in London. I discovered that for many, coffee is more than just a crop. It's a part their home, a playground for their children and the heart of their community.

 

 

What really struck me was how sustainable and naturally organic this coffee was! This coffee wasn't being farmed on large estates, with heavy machinery and chemicals being sprayed, it was in tiny plots of land and amongst an array of other trees and live stock that were roaming freely. The coffee was being farmed by hand and they were using the animals as natural fertilisers.

 

These experiences sparked a desire and passion in me to create MAD! Coffee, with the goal of giving others a similar experience, through coffee from the comfort of their kitchen, bringing them closer to the coffee communities and by making a difference to the sustainable development Ugandan coffee, through community empowerment.

Find out more...

  • MAD! Mission

    Our mission is to make Ugandan coffee the No. 1 choice of coffee in the UK, have some fun doing it... and most importantly, make a difference to the communities across Uganda and our MAD! drinkers at home.

    Read more 

  • About us

    We focus on quality, sustainability, and ethical practices to offer the finest single-origin and blended coffees from Uganda. We also carefully select and bundle a range of home barista and outdoor brewing equipment.

    Read more 
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Ugandan Journals

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