[Africa Coffee Belt] What are Africa's Coffee Growing Regions_Recommendations for Africa's Best Coffee Brands

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African Coffee Distribution

African coffee is mainly distributed in the long and narrow belt of the East African plateau, starting from Yemen and Ethiopia in the north, then branching into the coastal side of Kenya and Tanzania, as well as the three small countries at the heart of Africa - Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, finally reaching Malawi in the southernmost part, forming an African coffee belt stretching thousands of kilometers.

This distribution has close connections both historically and geographically. From coffee's homeland Ethiopia spreading to Yemen, during the great age of exploration that began in the 17th century, coffee cultivation spread to various parts of the world. After three hundred years, in the late 19th century, it returned to Kenya, neighboring coffee's homeland Ethiopia. The cultivation of African coffee not only has very intricate relationships with history but is also closely related to the cultivation environment of geography. Let us continue to explore...

The Great Rift Valley

The Great Rift Valley, also known as the East African Rift, is popularly known as the largest "scar" on Earth. Located in eastern Africa, it is one of the earliest cradles of human civilization. It is also the result of several million years of plate movement, where the mantle beneath the crust wells upward at the boundary between the African plate and the Indian Ocean plate, thinning and cracking the crust to form the Great Rift Valley. The great rift running through East Africa is the world's largest fracture zone, belonging to a divergent boundary. The ecology, geography, and human culture formed are quite unique, starting from the Dead Sea in the north, with many lakes and volcanic groups in between, and ending at the Mozambique estuary in the south.

This narrow rift valley, accompanied by the continued activity of the Great Rift Valley, includes volcanic terrain such as Africa's highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, in the volcanic regions of Kenya and Tanzania. It also features one of the world's deepest freshwater lakes, Lake Tanganyika (1,470 meters deep), as well as the world's second-largest freshwater lake - Lake Victoria, and grabens. On the high slopes of the mountain foothills, a growth environment for world-quality coffee is nurtured, shaping the rich flavors of African specialty coffee.

Let's review our geography - does the Great Rift Valley have geographical connections with today's excellent specialty coffee producing regions in Africa?

Burundi Coffee Region

Today we will introduce the core of the rift valley graben - the Burundi coffee region. Located inland in Africa, Burundi is primarily agricultural, with coffee being the largest commodity. The coffee industry here, without exaggeration, has saved the lives and livelihoods of most people. Burundi's coffee beans are mainly of the Bourbon variety, growing in high-altitude areas of 1,700-2,000 meters. Kayanza, Mutumba, and Ngozi are their main coffee growing areas, mostly cultivated by small farmers and then concentrated to large washing stations.

This batch from Burundi comes from the Mutumba Matiba region, a high-altitude area with Burundi's characteristic clean and layered flavor profile, worth trying for Africa's clean Bourbon variety coffee.

African Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted African coffee beans: Ethiopian coffee beans, Kenyan coffee beans, and Burundi coffee beans all have full guarantees in terms of brand and quality. More importantly, they offer extremely high cost-performance. A half-pound (227 grams) package costs only around 80-90 yuan. Calculating based on 15 grams of coffee powder per pour-over cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each specialty coffee costing only about 6 yuan. Compared to cafés that sell coffee for dozens of yuan per cup, this represents extremely high value.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse varieties of beans, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473