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

Tanzania Kilimanjaro Washed Bourbon

Tanzania is located in Africa and is a minor coffee-producing country with a relatively short history of coffee cultivation. Coffee in Tanzania is also known as Kahawa. Tanzania is an East African country situated in eastern Africa, bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to the south, and Rwanda and Burundi to the west. Tanzania has a long coffee history with extensive cultivation areas, covering approximately 250,000 hectares of coffee plantations.

Although the country's coffee is not as famous as Africa's coffee giants, its annual coffee production is nearly equal to Kenya's, reaching up to 50,000 tons. The tree species were introduced from the French island of Réunion and are Arabica varieties, mainly cultivated in the Bayamoyo and Mogoro growing regions.

The coffee grown in the Kilimanjaro region boasts the highest quality and has become synonymous with Tanzanian coffee, much like Yirgacheffe is to Ethiopia. Tanzania's main coffee-producing regions are located in the areas at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. To this day, coffee from the Kilimanjaro mountain region remains the best representative of Tanzanian coffee, accounting for 75% of the country's coffee production. Often, Tanzanian coffee appears before the world under the name Kilimanjaro, while the country's name Tanzania remains relatively unknown.

Cultivated Varieties

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

Bourbon

Generally, when we refer to Bourbon, we mostly mean Red Bourbon. This is because after Red Bourbon coffee trees flower and bear fruit, the color changes of the coffee cherries follow this progression: green → light yellow → light orange → mature red → darker red when fully ripe. Therefore, it is also called [Red Bourbon]. Bourbon grown at high altitudes typically exhibits better aroma, brighter acidity, and may even have wine-like flavor characteristics.

Typica

Typica demonstrates excellent flavor characteristics and is recognized as a specialty coffee variety, but it has extremely low yields and is susceptible to rust disease, requiring more intensive human management. Typica coffee originates from Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan and is the most widely cultivated coffee variety in the Western Hemisphere. The plants are relatively robust but intolerant to direct sunlight. The top leaves of Typica are reddish-bronze, giving it the name "red-topped coffee."

Kent

Kent is a Typica hybrid variety discovered in 1911 at the Kent coffee plantation in the Mysore region of India. It is a hybrid of S288 and Typica, characterized by high yields and rust disease resistance. The coffee aroma has more body than Bourbon varieties and has been successfully introduced to New World producing countries such as Kenya and Indonesia, making outstanding contributions.

Processing Method

Tanzania's green beans are primarily processed using the washed method.

The washed method is currently the most widely used processing approach, utilizing 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 flavor. The size classifications are:

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

AA: Screen size 17-18.

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

C: Smaller than AB screen size.

TT: Lighter weight beans sifted from AA and AB grades using air classifiers.

T: Lighter weight beans sifted from C grade using air classifiers.

E: Elephant Bean - large mutant beans where two beans have merged, also called Elephant Ear.

UG: Beans that do not meet the above standards.

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

The flavor grades are, in order:

TOP, PLUS, FAQ

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

Coffee Flavor Profile

Compared to its neighbor Kenya's premium coffee beans, Tanzanian coffee has less bright acidity and exhibits a more gentle and mild beauty, with more sweet aroma. Rich red wine notes are also a characteristic of Tanzanian coffee.

Tanzania's northern coffee growing regions include the highlands around Mount Kilimanjaro, such as Moshi and Mbeya, while the southern regions are primarily the Songea-Ruvuma area through which the Ruvuma River flows. Due to different growing terrains, the styles vary slightly. Coffee from the southwestern Ruvuma region of Tanzania has wine and fruit aroma flavors, distinguishing it from coffee from the northern region near Mount Kilimanjaro.

Mount Kilimanjaro is located in northeastern Tanzania, where local small farmers grow coffee at altitudes between 1300-2000m. Its coffee flavor differs from the characteristics of neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya, combining features of both countries - excellent body with fruit and floral aromas, making it a coffee worth trying. Coffee belongs to the dicotyledonous plant family, and generally, a normal coffee cherry fruit contains one pair (two halves) of coffee seeds, which we call coffee beans.

Coffee growing region in Africa - Tanzanian coffee comes from the fertile soils of the East African Rift Valley, representing the finest quality coffee from this region. Its bright acidity and medium body complement sweet citrus and floral notes perfectly. This coffee tastes excellent whether served hot or as iced coffee. Paired with oranges or berries, its bright flavors are further enhanced.

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