Is Zambian Coffee Delicious? Zambian Coffee Bean Growing Regions Produce Fresh Fruit Flavors and Acidity

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Zambian Coffee

Coffee was introduced to Zambia in the 1950s, when missionaries brought Bourbon coffee seeds from Tanzania and Kenya. Production did not begin to grow, however, until the late 1970s and early 1980s, with funding from the World Bank. A rise in pests and disease led farmers to start planting the hybrid variety Catimor, though it is not as flavorful as Bourbon. That shift proved temporary: the government later recommended Bourbon again, although considerable numbers of Catimor are still grown in Zambia.

The earliest Zambian plantings were all Bourbon. Because of economic constraints there were no effective ways to eliminate pests, and with technology still backward, Zambian coffee suffered badly from borers and disease in its early years, finally forcing a temporary switch to the more disaster-resistant Catimor.

Although Catimor helped greatly against natural hardship and insect borers, planting it in this country's growing environment could be considered a waste of natural resources. In the end Zambia abandoned Catimor and changed its main cultivated variety back to Bourbon.

As time went on, Zambia applied the latest technology and innovation to coffee growing, including chemical and biological pest control as well as composting coffee pulp. In cultivation, for example, most countries practice shade-grown coffee, planting banana trees or other crops at higher altitudes or beside the coffee trees to shade them.

Zambia, by contrast, does not grow coffee under shade. It relies on irrigation, fertilization and chemical approaches so that the coffee trees grow in full sunlight and develop normally. It is precisely this innovation and application of technology that has made the quality of Zambian coffee rise steadily.

Zambia has had a commercial coffee platform for less than 50 years, making it a relative latecomer in the coffee world, especially in specialty coffee. Because of that, Zambia, led by large coffee plantations, has essentially achieved modernization of its coffee industry, and those estates are the absolute main force in the country's coffee exports. The most fitting comment on Zambian coffee is "worth looking forward to," since fresh fruit flavors and acidity can be found in specialty coffee samples.

Zambia has a population of about 14.6 million people, with 2013 production at 10,000 bags (60kg per bag). The boundaries of coffee-producing regions within Zambia are unclear, and are usually distinguished only as southern, central, Copperbelt Province and northern regions. Main producing regions:

Northern producing region around the Muchinga Mountains and near Lusaka city.

Altitude: 900-2,000 meters

Harvest period: April-September

Varieties: Bourbon, Catimor

In Summary

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research house that is happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation only so that more friends fall in love with coffee, and every month there are 3 low-discount coffee events, because FrontStreet Coffee wants more people to drink the best coffee at the lowest price. That has been FrontStreet Coffee's principle for 6 years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Zambia is best known for fresh fruit flavors and lively acidity, and that bright, fruity style is exactly what the light-roast African coffees below deliver. FrontStreet Kenya Little Tomato is a Kenya specialty washed lot built around vivid sun-dried tomato and smoked plum acidity with a full, juicy body. It comes from Kenya's Thika region, grown between 1,550 and 1,750 meters from the classic local SL28 and SL34 varieties, and is given a light roast so the lively acidity and layered fruit are preserved. The dry aroma shows intense sun-dried tomato and florals, while the cup carries clear sun-dried tomato and smoked plum, a bright, substantial acidity like fresh juice, a sweet mid-palate with pear and black plum, and a clean, lingering finish of yellow sugar and faint green tea.

If you prefer floral fruit over pure acidity, FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui is one of the most successful specialty releases of recent years. Its tropical fruit aromas are unusually prominent, with strawberry, passionfruit, jackfruit and even lychee, plus obvious sweetness and very little bitterness. It drinks smooth and full of juice, and for anyone who dislikes the bitterness of traditional coffee it can completely change how they think about the drink.

For something softer and more approachable, FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Gerdin Cooperative is a washed Ethiopian lot from Gerdin village, with the citrus, berry and floral notes typical of Yirgacheffe and a gentle green tea finish. Its acidity is soft and bright rather than sharp, making it an easy first cup for anyone just starting with hand-poured coffee.