How are Tanzania Coffee Beans? What are the Characteristics of Kilimanjaro Coffee, Ranked in the World's Top Ten?

In FrontStreet Coffee's bean selection, there is a relatively rare coffee-producing region. No prize for guessing: what is it?

That's right! It's Tanzanian coffee. Compared to other producing regions, Tanzanian coffee doesn't have as much fame. Nevertheless, Tanzania is undoubtedly an excellent coffee-producing country. Its coffee can be ranked alongside Ethiopia and Kenya as the "Three Giants of African Coffee" and is also called the "Coffee Gentleman" by Europeans.

For this very reason, FrontStreet Coffee has included this coffee bean in its selection. Today, FrontStreet Coffee would like to share with everyone why Tanzanian coffee can be honored as the "Coffee Gentleman"!

The Development History of Tanzanian Coffee

Like Ethiopia and Kenya, Tanzania is a typical East African country. Although it is located in the tropics, very close to the equator, its unique geographical conditions with many highlands and mountains make Tanzania an excellent country for coffee cultivation. However, it is also one of the least developed countries in the world, with an economy primarily based on agricultural cultivation. Coffee is one of its main export cash crops.

Coffee became an economic crop in Tanzania at the end of the 19th century. Under German colonial rule, Tanzania began large-scale planting of Arabica coffee trees around Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru. However, because the promoted European agricultural model greatly differed from local traditional practices, along with other reasons, widespread cultivation of coffee as an economic crop faced resistance from locals. Despite this, Tanzania's coffee industry was developed during this period. By the early 20th century, after World War I, the British took over the administration of Tanzania, and Tanzania's coffee industry further developed. Although cultivation also faced resistance from locals, the British colonial government promoted a cooperative model, allowing farmers to organize for collective coffee production and sales. This not only improved coffee production efficiency and quality control but also increased farmers' income. Therefore, the development prospects of Tanzanian coffee at that time were significant.

After independence in 1961, Tanzania focused on the coffee industry and carried out a series of reforms. However, due to various reasons, Tanzania's coffee industry has repeatedly faced obstacles, and to date, there hasn't been much improvement in production volume and scale. Nevertheless, the quality of its coffee has not diminished, still maintaining the excellent performance of those years.

What are the Characteristics of Tanzanian Coffee?

Like the relationship between Ethiopia and Kenya, although Tanzania borders Kenya, its coffee doesn't have the prominent and solid acidity of Kenyan coffee. On the contrary, it is widely popular for its extremely gentle acidity! Among Tanzania's many coffee-producing regions, the Kilimanjaro region produces the most famous coffee. Because it boasts an unparalleled coffee-growing environment! Not only does it have high altitude creating large day-night temperature differences, but it also has fertile volcanic soil and pure meltwater sources, resulting in very high-quality coffee.

Because Tanzania has abundant water resources, the local coffee processing method is mainly washed. The excellent growing environment combined with stable processing methods creates the "gentleman" characteristics of Kilimanjaro coffee. The brewed coffee not only has gentle acidity and a rich mouthfeel but also carries a unique and intense smoky aroma. Compared to the distinctive characteristics of coffees from other regions, Tanzanian coffee's performance is "gentle and refined." For this reason, Europeans call it the "Coffee Gentleman." The Tanzanian coffee in FrontStreet Coffee's selection comes from the Kilimanjaro region and is a washed Typica. To better express the gentle acidity characteristics of Tanzanian coffee, FrontStreet Coffee has set its roast level to medium-light, removing it from the roaster at 1 minute and 45 seconds into the first crack development!

Due to its relatively light roast level, we need to use a relatively high extraction efficiency when brewing. FrontStreet Coffee uses the following parameters when brewing:

Coffee amount used: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Brewing water temperature: 92°C

Grind level: Ek43 setting 10, with 80% pass-through rate on #20 sieve

Filter cup used: V60

Brewing method: Three-stage pour

We still start with a 30-second bloom using twice the amount of water. After the bloom, we pour the second stage of hot water (120ml) using a small water flow in large circles. When the water in the filter cup has fully percolated, we then pour the final stage of hot water (75ml) using small water flow in small circles. When the coffee has fully percolated, we can remove the filter cup and finish the extraction!

The extraction time is 2 minutes and 5 seconds. The coffee has a rich berry aroma, and when tasted, it displays gentle acidity of red berries and citrus, a slight honey sweetness, and a black tea finish. The mouthfeel is as rich as FrontStreet Coffee introduced earlier, with an elegant smoky aroma. No wonder Tanzanian coffee is honored as the "Coffee Gentleman" - truly a well-deserved title~

- END -

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473