If it wasn’t right next to Kenya, Tanzania might be recognized as one of the world’s powerhouse coffee origins. Their coffees are bright, intricate, and kissed by sweet and often fruity notes. That could be said for many Kenyan coffees as well and Kenya has always tended to have a larger quantity of high quality coffees. That’s changing though and this year we saw an incredible amount of stellar coffees come out of Tanzania.
Coffee has been an important industry in Tanzania since 1911 when it was introduced under German colonial rule. But as is often the case, colonialism left the country with problems that are still being ironed out to this day. Income inequality remains a struggle but their overall economy is strong, as is their farming sector. They are also a beautiful melting pot of cultures. It’s home to about 125 ethnic groups, proudly united as Tanzanians by the Swahili language.
When many people think of Tanzanian coffee, they tend to think of peaberries, the beans that come from coffee cherries with one prominent round seed. However, peaberries aren’t necessarily more genetically common in Tanzania, they’ve just been marketing them as a way to stand out.
The lot that we’ve chosen to highlight isn’t a peaberry lot but the tastes very characteristically like a Tanzanian coffee and it’s insanely flavorful with a rich, syrupy body. There were only eight bags in this lot, which was auctioned off, and we bought one of them. It was produced by Ngila Estate in the Ngorongoro Crater. Farmer Rudolph Meyer invested in drip irrigation and eco-pulpers and it shows in the coffee’s quality which exemplifies the bright and fruity profile Tanzanian coffees are known for. It’s sweet, clean, and a little tart, with notes of molasses, pomegranate, and cherry.
His family’s farm is on a conservation area on the south side of the Serengeti. Their shade grown coffee fosters eco-diversity and creates a barrier around the nature preserve.
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Flavor profile
bold and fruity
Molasses, pomegranate, and cherry
Roast
medium
Process
washed
Altitude
1600 meters
Varietal/Cultivar
Bourbon, Kent
Lot Size: 480kg, , Cup Score: 87
Producer
N’gila Estate, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Relationship Established: 2021
Country
Tanzania
Transparency
Green: $10.14/kg, FOB: $7.28/kg
Transportation: $1.24/kg, Production: $8.973/kg
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