Tanzania Moshi Region Coffee: What Coffee Regions Does Tanzania Have?

Tanzanian Coffee Heritage

In the early 16th century coffee was introduced to Tanzania from Ethiopia, but it was not until the late 19th century that it was popularized by German missionaries.

Tanzania has a total of 11 coffee-producing regions, and when it comes to Tanzanian coffee beans, Mount Kilimanjaro coffee is undoubtedly the most famous. Only the Arusha and Moshi regions, however, can really be considered Mount Kilimanjaro coffee.

Today's featured selection, Tanzania Chagga, comes from the Moshi region and belongs to the Mount Kilimanjaro coffee category.

The Story Behind Chagga Coffee

The name of this specialty coffee pays tribute to the local Chagga people. It is through their diligence that we have the chance to taste this rich and wonderful coffee. The Chagga have lived on Mount Kilimanjaro for hundreds of years and deeply love this land. Tanzania Chagga coffee comes mainly from two small-scale cooperatives, Marangu East and Mivikani North. Each smallholder handles their family's coffee beans with great care and attention to detail.

Chagga Coffee Processing

The Chagga people's general route from harvest to cup runs as follows: coffee cherry harvesting, coffee bean hulling, washing and fermentation, then drying.

Coffee Profile

Region: Africa · Tanzania · Moshi

Processing Method: Washed method

Acidity: Medium

Body: Medium

Shade Trees: Banana trees

Description: Refreshing acidity with flavors reminiscent of black cherry and apricot

Design Inspiration

The card design takes its inspiration from the farms and regions where the beans grow. A series of small objects are woven together into a large-scale agricultural topographic map of Tanzania Chagga. The fabric used in the design reflects the character of the coffee-producing region, and its rich warm tones represent the harmonious coexistence of banana trees and coffee trees on the farms managed by Chagga growers.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Since Tanzania's coffee originally came from Ethiopia, this is a natural moment to look at the source. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and home to countless native varieties, and the most accessible place to begin is FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe. Yirgacheffe is a small town in southern Ethiopia where the weather stays mild all year round and mist hangs over cool, damp hills sheltering thousands of coffee trees; the cup shows a clear jasmine aroma and bright citrus acidity, light and elegant with a tea-like body, closer to a clean lemon tea than to a heavy coffee. For a more specific single origin, FrontStreet Coffee's Banko Gotiti Cooperative lot comes from smallholders in the Worka area at the south-eastern end of Yirgacheffe, originally part of the Worka cooperative under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers' Cooperative Union (YCFCU) before roughly 300 farmers formed their own cooperative in 2012. Because the fruit is stripped away before drying, the coffee's own aromatics come through cleanly: citrus and lemon acidity with elegant white florals.

Ethiopia's natural lots are just as rewarding, and they are where the fruit really shows. FrontStreet Coffee's natural Red Cherry removes any damaged or moldy fruit, then dries the cherries in the sun for two weeks until the sugar and essence of the pulp have seeped into the bean and the moisture has fallen to 12%, after which the hardened fruit, mucilage and parchment are scraped off and the beans pass density and color sorting before a final hand sort. The result is a clean cup with peach, cocoa, honey and lemon. FrontStreet Coffee's natural Huakui comes from Hambella in Guji, Sidama, where a 200-hectare farm follows the traditional natural method; workers spread ripe cherries on raised beds for 21 days, turning them constantly for even drying and removing defective or moldy beans by hand every three to five days. Roasted medium-light, it shows a light fermented wine note, florals, citrus and mango, with honey sweetness, cocoa and a touch of spice, a thick body and a long finish. For something brighter, FrontStreet Coffee's Sidama natural Hamasho draws on the JARC 74 series of disease-resistant varieties — the small-beaned 74158 in particular — and offers perfume lemon, strawberry and starfruit on the nose with strawberry, starfruit and green grape sweetness in the mouth, followed by a rising floral note. And for the wilder side of the country, FrontStreet Coffee's Kafa Forest coffee grows in shade between 1,400 and 2,100 m; roasted medium-light, it grinds with a clear white floral note and brews with bright lemon acidity, sweet orange and bergamot, a melon-and-nut sweetness in the finish and a green-tea texture.

These coffees are all about aroma and acidity, so brew them to keep both. A pour-over with water a little below boiling, a medium-fine grind and a gentle staged pour will hold the florals in place; steer away from long, hot extractions that flatten the fruit into bitterness. If you want a colder, more refreshing expression, cold brew the naturals in particular, where the low-temperature steep amplifies the berry and tropical notes and gives the cup a soft, juice-like body.