Introduction to Starbucks Tanzania Shiwaka Coffee - Tanzania Coffee Bean Story

Tanzania is often overlooked next to its northern neighbor, yet its southern cooperatives produce exceptional coffee. This article profiles the Shiviwaka story and the Starbucks lot built on it.

The United Republic of Tanzania, abbreviated as Tanzania, is one of the cradles of ancient humanity. It lies in eastern Africa, south of the equator. It borders Kenya and Uganda to the north, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the east. The country covers an area of 945,087 square kilometers with a total population of 55.57 million as of 2016.

Like many African countries, Tanzania is recognized by the United Nations as one of the world's least developed regions. Its coffee beans, however, are far from poor: they give off fruity aromas and carry coffee's distinctive rich mouthfeel. This is owed not only to abundant natural conditions but also to the Tanzanian people's emphasis on responsibility, transparency, good governance and the volunteer spirit, which together cultivate such rich flavors.

Tanzanian coffee beans are graded by size: AA (sieve aperture greater than 6.75mm), A (sieve aperture 6.25-6.5mm), B (sieve aperture 6.15-6.5mm), C (sieve aperture 5.9-6.15mm), E (elephant beans, extremely large but plain in flavor) and PB (peaberries, smaller and very rare). In addition, particularly light beans within AA and A are classified as AF, while particularly light beans within B and C are classified as TT.

Distinctive Characteristics of Tanzanian Coffee

The most distinctive feature of Tanzanian coffee beans is their aroma. The moment of brewing wraps you in magnificent fruity fragrances. Deep roasting does not destroy that aroma, and using a medium to dark roast lets you fully experience the balance between fragrance and body.

It is for this reason that Starbucks partnered with Shiviwaka in southern Tanzania to launch this inspiring, outstanding and exceptional bean.

Tanzania Shiviwaka

Shiviwaka is located in southern Tanzania, and its name means Coffee Growers Association. Established in 2007, it aims to improve coffee yield and quality and thereby people's quality of life. The local people were eager to catch up with the high-quality coffee of the northern regions, so they have committed themselves to developing and optimizing coffee processing, and only in recent years have they been able to consistently produce exceptional beans.

Coffee Profile

Altitude: 1,200-2,100 meters

Varieties: Bourbon, Kent (first discovered in India, a Typica hybrid)

Processing Method: Washed method

Acidity: Higher

Body: Lower

Flavor: Higher acidity accompanied by green apple-like flavors and caramel-like sweetness

Design Inspiration

The design inspiration comes from the bold, unique patterns worn by women in the community. Each petal symbolizes the growth of coffee trees and the cohesion of coffee farmers, along with the jacaranda trees growing in the region; the jacaranda is an ornamental, foliage and flowering species widely planted as a street tree in tropical and warm subtropical regions, its wood yellowish-white to gray, soft and light, with straight grain and easy to work, suitable for furniture. The species has both ornamental and economic value. The center of the petals is shaped like a coffee bean, also representing the terraces on the mountains in the growing area, and the palette of the card echoes the lively acidity of this bean.

For brewing, FrontStreet Coffee recommends water around 87°C for Tanzanian beans, which show green apple flavors and caramel sweetness.

The careful washing and sorting behind Tanzanian coffee are what make that bright green-apple character so consistent from lot to lot.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Balance is the goal for many drinkers, and a medium roast is usually the best place to find it, since darker roasts taste more bitter and feel heavier while lighter roasts taste more acidic and feel lighter. For those who dislike both sourness and bitterness, the FrontStreet Brazil Queen's Manor is a fine starting point. Grown in Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer, it is the distinctive Yellow Bourbon variety, with a clean, sweet profile; after a medium roast it shows the aroma and sweetness of cream, peanut, chocolate, toasted bread and sugarcane, and it can be brewed as pour-over or in a moka pot or an espresso machine.

For a sweeter medium roast, the FrontStreet Strawberry Candy is the first choice. What sets it apart from other fruit-forward coffees is that it blends two well-known origins from Central and South America: a honey-processed coffee from Costa Rica and a washed Geisha from Panama. To highlight its best qualities, FrontStreet gives it a medium roast so that it shows both orange-blossom honey and a rounded sweetness, suiting cold brew, pour-over and espresso alike for a refreshing entry.

A representative Chinese specialty bean, the FrontStreet 2013 Natural Typica carries the classic flavor of Yunnan small-bean coffee, and to restore its balanced, gentle character it is given a medium roast, bringing soft notes of nuts, brown sugar, black tea and dried apricot. It works for pour-over, cold brew and drip machines and offers outstanding value.

The FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 is grown from the Typica variety, a world-renowned fine Arabica, and its exceptional geography is indispensable to the balanced Blue Mountain profile. Often called the king of coffees, Blue Mountain No.1 is given a medium roast, which fuses its distinctive acidity, bitterness, sweetness and body into a strong, elegant character; the entry immediately delivers the roasted flavors of chocolate, toasted nuts, cream and caramel that few other coffees can match.