Tanzanian Coffee Growing Regions: Kilimanjaro Volcano Washed Bourbon with Rich Body

Tanzania Kilimanjaro Washed Bourbon

Tanzania lies in Africa and is a relatively minor coffee-producing country with a fairly short history of cultivation. Tanzanian coffee is also known as Kahawa. The country sits in East Africa, bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia to the south, and Rwanda and Burundi to the west. Its coffee history is long and its cultivation area extensive, covering roughly 250,000 hectares of coffee plantations.

Although the country is not as famous as Africa's coffee giants, its annual production is close to Kenya's, reaching up to 50,000 tons. The trees were introduced from the French island of Reunion and are Arabica varieties, grown mainly in the Bayamoyo and Mogoro regions.

Coffee grown in the Kilimanjaro region is the highest in quality and has become synonymous with Tanzanian coffee, much as Yirgacheffe is with Ethiopia. Tanzania's main producing areas lie at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. To this day coffee from the Kilimanjaro area remains the best representative of Tanzanian coffee, accounting for 75% of national production. Tanzanian coffee often appears on the world stage under the name Kilimanjaro, while the country's own name stays relatively unknown.

Cultivated Varieties

The most commonly grown varieties in Tanzania are Bourbon, Typica and Kent.

Bourbon

When people say Bourbon, they usually mean Red Bourbon. After the trees flower and set fruit, the cherries pass through a colour progression: green, light yellow, light orange, mature red, and a deeper red at full ripeness. Hence the name Red Bourbon. Grown at high altitude, Bourbon typically shows better aroma, brighter acidity and sometimes even wine-like characteristics.

Typica

Typica has excellent flavour and is recognised as a specialty variety, but yields are extremely low and it is susceptible to rust disease, demanding more intensive management. Typica originated in Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan and is the most widely cultivated variety in the Western Hemisphere. The plants are relatively robust but cannot tolerate direct sunlight, and the top leaves are a reddish bronze, which gives Typica its nickname: "red-topped coffee."

Kent

Kent is a Typica hybrid discovered in 1911 at the Kent coffee plantation in the Mysore region of India. A cross of S288 and Typica, it is characterised by high yields and resistance to rust disease. Its aroma carries more body than Bourbon varieties, and it has been introduced successfully to New World producers including Kenya and Indonesia, where it has made an outstanding contribution.

Processing Method

Tanzanian green beans are processed primarily by the washed method.

The washed method is the most widely used processing approach today, using washing and fermentation to remove the fruit skin, pulp and mucilage.

Washed method process: bean selection, pulp removal, fermentation, washing, drying, hulling, sorting and grading.

Grading

Tanzania's grading system is similar to Kenya's, classifying beans by size and by flavour. The size grades are:

AA Plus (AA+): AA grade beans with particularly excellent cup quality (flavour, mouthfeel).

AA: Screen size 17-18.

AB: Screen size 15-16, representing the majority of production.

C: Smaller than the AB screen size.

TT: Lighter weight beans sifted out of AA and AB grades by air classifier.

T: Lighter weight beans sifted out of C grade by air classifier.

E: Elephant Bean - large mutant beans formed when two beans fuse, also called Elephant Ear.

UG: Beans that do not meet the standards above.

PB: Peaberry - classified by shape, unrelated to flavour or weight.

The flavour grades, in order, are:

TOP, PLUS, FAQ

FAQ: "Fair to Average Quality" - may contain some slight defective beans but does not affect flavour.

Coffee Flavor Profile

Compared with its neighbour Kenya's premium beans, Tanzanian coffee has less bright acidity and a gentler, milder beauty, with more sweet aroma. Rich red wine notes are also characteristic of Tanzanian coffee.

Tanzania's northern growing regions take in the highlands around Mount Kilimanjaro, such as Moshi and Mbeya, while the southern regions are mainly the Songea-Ruvuma area through which the Ruvuma River flows. Different growing terrain gives slightly different styles. Coffee from the southwestern Ruvuma region shows wine and fruit aromas, setting it apart from coffee from the northern area near Mount Kilimanjaro.

Mount Kilimanjaro lies in northeastern Tanzania, where local smallholders grow coffee at altitudes between 1300-2000m. The flavour differs from neighbouring Ethiopia and Kenya, combining features of both: excellent body with fruit and floral aromas. Coffee belongs to the dicotyledonous plant family, and a normal coffee cherry generally contains one pair, that is two halves, of coffee seeds, which we call coffee beans.

African growing region: Tanzanian coffee comes from the fertile soils of the East African Rift Valley and represents the finest quality from this region. Its bright acidity and medium body pair beautifully with sweet citrus and floral notes. It tastes excellent whether served hot or as iced coffee, and pairing it with oranges or berries brings its bright flavours forward even more.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If Tanzania's gentle, wine-tinged profile appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's everyday washed Yirgacheffe is a natural next step for exploring East African coffee. It is known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity and a tea-like body, and its accessible price makes it the first specialty bean for many drinkers.

FrontStreet Gutingding Cooperative is the more precise expression of that style. Located in the Gotiti village in the Woka district at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe, it began as part of the YCFCU's Woka cooperative before being recognised as a single origin in its own right. Traditional washed processing sets the cup on citrus and lemon lines with an elegant white floral character and a clean, bright finish.

For a natural alternative, FrontStreet Natural Red Cherry uses only fully ripe red cherries, dried on raised beds for three to five weeks with frequent turning to keep the drying even. The fruit stays around the bean through the dry, so the coffee keeps the classic Yirgacheffe profile while gaining tropical fruit: citrus-like acidity, berry juice, honeyed sweetness and a creamy, smooth mouthfeel.