Introduction to Kigoma Coffee Region in Tanzania, Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest continent, sitting in the southwestern Eastern Hemisphere and straddling the equator. It is largely a plateau continent: highlands between 500 and 1000 meters cover more than 60% of its landmass, dotted with mountains, volcanoes, lakes, and rivers. Because it spans the equator, the continent is dominated by a hot, relatively dry tropical climate, with average annual temperatures above 20°C. Richly endowed with natural resources, Africa has a strong agricultural tradition, and several of its countries are famous for coffee — Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania among them. Tanzania, in particular, has earned the nickname "the gentleman of coffee."

Coffee arrived in Tanzania in the 19th century, when the country was a German colony. The Germans introduced coffee and planted it in the Bukoba region, but the local Haya people were reluctant to give up food crops in favor of coffee trees, so the industry grew slowly.

After World War I, control of the territory passed to the British. Even though the British planted more than 10 million coffee seedlings in Bukoba, they too ran into resistance from the Haya people — seedlings were pulled up, and the industry once again failed to take off. As a result, coffee cultivation began shifting to the Chagga region.

After Tanzania gained independence in 1961, attention finally turned to developing the coffee sector. From the 1990s onward, the industry went through a series of reforms. But in the late 1990s, coffee leaf rust struck, sharply cutting production in northern Tanzania. Cultivation consequently shifted again — this time toward the southern regions and the Mount Kilimanjaro area. Today, thanks to the country's terrain and climate, coffee has become one of Tanzania's principal agricultural cash crops.

Tanzania's Geography and Climate

Tanzania lies in eastern Africa, just south of the equator. The terrain rises toward the northwest and falls toward the southeast: the eastern coast is lowland, while the western plateau accounts for half the country's total area. The East African Rift Valley branches into an eastern and a western arm at Lake Malawi and runs north–south through the country, and in the northeast stands Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak on the continent.

Proximity to the equator gives the eastern coast and parts of the interior lowlands a tropical savanna climate, while the western inland plateau has a tropical highland climate with average annual temperatures between 21°C and 26°C. Rainfall is modest — 80% of the country receives less than 1000 millimeters a year — but Tanzania's many rivers and lakes supply abundant water.

Tanzania's Coffee Regions

Tanzanian coffee is currently grown in nine regions, the best known being Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Ruvuma, Mbeya, Tarime, and Kigoma.

Kilimanjaro is the most famous of them all. The mountain — the highest in Africa — is made up of three dormant volcanoes, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, with its tallest summit at 5895 meters. Coffee grows on its slopes between 1050 and 2500 meters, where high altitude, volcanic soil, and clean snowmelt water combine to create the country's most favorable coffee-growing conditions. FrontStreet Coffee offers a washed Typica from the Kilimanjaro region: gently acidic, with flavors of citrus, berries, honey, and nuts, a soft tea-like mouthfeel, and an overall balanced cup.

Other regions also produce outstanding coffee, Kigoma among them. The region takes its name from its capital, Kigoma City, in the country's northwest near Burundi and Lake Tanganyika.

Lake Tanganyika endows the area with rich natural resources: beautiful lakeside scenery, a pleasant climate, and lush vegetation, including extensive banana and oil palm plantations. These trees provide shade and windbreaks for the coffee. The lake's aquatic resources are abundant as well, and the region is capable of producing many impressive coffees. Still, the local coffee industry remains in its infancy; in recent years the government has begun investing heavily in the region to support agriculture, fisheries, and other sectors.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the clean, balanced character of FrontStreet Coffee's washed Kilimanjaro Typica appeals to you, the washed coffees of Ethiopia are a natural next step. FrontStreet Coffee's Washed Yirgacheffe delivers a clear jasmine fragrance and bright citrus acidity over a light, elegant, tea-like body — like a crisp, clean lemon tea, and a perfect introduction to washed African coffee.

For something with a bit more fruit, try FrontStreet Coffee's Worka (Guodingding) Cooperative coffee from the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe. The cooperative, founded in 2012 by about 300 smallholder farmers, pulps its cherries before drying, so the coffee's own character comes through with exceptional clarity: citrus and lemon notes, refined white florals, and a bright, delicate cup.