Introduction to Tanzania Coffee Beans with Rich Body and Washed Processing

FrontStreet Coffee Tanzania Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee's Tanzania coffee beans trace their roots to the Kilimanjaro region, where Catholic missionaries introduced the Bourbon variety in 1898. The Kent variety followed in 1920. As a result, Tanzanian coffee to this day is composed mainly of Bourbon and Kent.

Coffee Varieties

Arabica: 70% - grown between 1000 and 2500 meters

Robusta: 30% - grown between 800 and 900 meters

Three Major Growing Regions

North: Regions 1 and 2 - harvest season July to December

West: Regions 3 and 4 - harvest season May to October

South: Regions 5 and 6 - harvest season July to December

Total cultivation area: approximately 250,000 hectares

Coffee Flavor and Taste

Tanzania is a classic East African country, bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, by Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia to the south, and by Rwanda and Burundi to the west. Many people like to measure Tanzanian coffee against that of its neighbor Kenya. Set beside Kenya's finest beans, FrontStreet Coffee's Tanzania coffee shows less piercing acidity and a gentler, mellower beauty, with added sweetness and rich red-wine notes, a signature of Tanzanian coffee.

Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, rises in northeastern Tanzania. After World War I the territory was placed under trusteeship and at one point fell under British colonial rule, gaining independence in 1964. Coffee has been cultivated here since 1893, and green beans are processed primarily by the washed method. High-grown, high-quality Tanzanian coffee, much like Kenyan coffee, displays lively, bright acidity.

Tanzania's northern coffee areas take in the highlands around Mount Kilimanjaro, including the Moshi and Mbeya regions, while the south is dominated by the Songea-Ruvuma region, through which the Ruvuma River flows. Different growing terrain gives each area a slightly different style. Coffee from the southwestern Ruvuma region carries wine-like and fruity aromas that set it apart from the coffee of the northern Mount Kilimanjaro region.

The Kilimanjaro volcanic zone lies in northeastern Tanzania and is the country's largest coffee-producing region, accounting for 75%. Broadly speaking, Tanzanian beans are of exceptional quality. The most important areas sit in the northern highlands near Kenya. Smallholders account for 85% of coffee cultivation, growing coffee at altitudes of 1300-2000m. Their coffee tastes quite different from that of neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya. FrontStreet Coffee's Tanzania Kilimanjaro beans combine the strengths of both countries, with excellent body and both fruity and floral aromas, a coffee well worth trying. Coffee is a dicotyledonous plant. Normally a single coffee cherry contains a pair of seeds, two halves, which we call coffee beans.

Compared with flat beans (the pair of flat-sided beans), round beans, also called caracol or caracolillo, Spanish for "small snail," occur, botanically, either because pollination is uneven (Arabica is self-pollinating; if a flower has only one ovary, or only one ovary is successfully pollinated, it can produce just one seed) or because nutrition is uneven during growth (most often at the ends of the branches), so that nutrients reach only one cotyledon and only that cotyledon goes on to form a single small, oval, egg-shaped seed. Hence the name round bean. Normally only about 3 to 5% of a plant's crop is round beans, making them relatively rare. Because their shape and size differ from normal flat beans, they are usually graded and sold separately after screen sizing.

Northern coffee is aromatic, brightly acidic and full in the mouth, with a mineral-water sweetness thanks to fertile volcanic soil.

Southern coffee is richly floral, with a smooth mouthfeel and elegant fruit acidity.

Among Africa's growing regions, Tanzania draws its coffee from the fertile soils of the East African Rift Valley and stands as an outstanding representative of the region's high-quality coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's Tanzania coffee pairs refreshing acidity with medium body and sweet citrus and floral aromas. This FrontStreet Coffee Tanzania Kilimanjaro Mountain coffee is excellent served either hot or as iced coffee, and pairing it with oranges or berries brings its bright flavors further forward.

Product Information

Product Name: FrontStreet Coffee Tanzania Kilimanjaro Mountain Tanzania Kilimanjaro Peaberry

Country: Tanzania

Grade: Peaberry PB

Region: Northern Highlands, Kilimanjaro Volcanic Region

Altitude: 1300-2000m

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Bourbon

Producer: Local small farmer collective

Flavor: Apricot, date, spice, malt chocolate

This lot of FrontStreet Coffee's Kilimanjaro Volcano peaberry is washed, with acidity reminiscent of FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya coffee and a red-wine-like texture, soft and pleasing low acidity, a rounded mouthfeel and medium viscosity. Although the texture of a premium FrontStreet Coffee Tanzania coffee resembles that of FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya coffee, overall it can hold its own against Kenya. Besides the lingering aftertaste, it carries both fruit aroma and fruit acidity, with less acidity than FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya coffee, making it the milder cup.

FrontStreet Coffee's Tanzania beans belong to the Central/East African washed (wet-processed) family, known for bright acidity and wild, stimulating flavors; among these, FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya coffee is unquestionably the leader. Peaberries are usually sorted out and sold at a premium, but their performance in the cup is often disappointing, leaving buyers feeling they were not worth the price. As a newer style of bean, Tanzanian peaberries sell very well in the United States, and many roasters have come to accept that. Tanzania truly has great potential, yet its long shipping routes often mean the coffee misses its peak flavor window. Because Tanzania's coffee industry lacks the complete infrastructure of Kenya, the beans may already have become aged in shipping containers by the time they reach port. I can often brew this coffee to its perfect expression, but beans that are several years old have lost their flavor entirely. So remember: if a supply list shows newly arrived Tanzanian coffee, that is genuinely exciting news, because such a lot is bound to be exceptionally good. Northern Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, Moshi and Mbeya regions, along with the Sogea area near the southern Ruvuma River and the Ruvuma Basin, all produce premium Tanzanian coffee.

Famous Tanzanian coffee brands include Africafe, Tanica Cafe and Kilimanjaro. FrontStreet Coffee's Tanzania beans have long been loved by Europeans and rank among the country's famous products; Europeans once nicknamed Tanzanian coffee "the coffee gentleman." Africafe is one of the leading representatives of Tanzanian AA beans, nurtured by volcanic ash, a variety shaped by nature, with a distinctive cocoa-fruit aroma and a strong, mellow richness.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Tanzania's washed, high-grown coffees show how much clarity the wet process can bring to a bright East African cup, and FrontStreet Coffee's washed lineup is the best place to taste that character. FrontStreet Kenya Small Tomato is our flagship double-washed bean, with vivid cherry-tomato and smoked-plum acidity, juicy body and a clean cane-sugar and green-tea finish. If you prefer a softer, more floral expression, FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Konga Cooperative brings jasmine and bright citrus over a similarly clean washed structure.