A different kind of African Coffee: Tanzania-Coffee Field in Mount Kilimanjaro

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Tanzanian coffee

When it comes to coffee-producing regions in Africa, what countries do you think of? Is Ethiopia the earliest birthplace of coffee? Is Kenya famous for its sour coffee? Or Rwanda, which is famous for the floral and fruity aromas of coffee? The author does not intend to introduce the above well-known coffee producing areas in this article, but would like to use this article to introduce the first-class spring of African coffee: Tanzania.

Mount Kilimanjaro and Kilimanjaro Coffee

Tanzania is a typical East African country, bordering Kenya and Uganda to the north, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia to the south, and Rwanda and Burundi to the west. When it comes to Tanzanian coffee, we must mention the coffee produced in Mount Kilimanjaro. Located in northeastern Tanzania, it is the highest mountain in Africa. As early as 1893, missionaries introduced bourbon coffee for planting. Extreme and unique climatic conditions are the treasure of growing coffee. Today, the coffee produced in Mount Kilimanjaro is definitely the best representative of Tanzania and accounts for 75% of the coffee production in Tanzania.

You may ask, what are the advantages or special conditions for the growth of Kilimanjaro coffee? This is because Mount Kilimanjaro is not only the highest mountain in Africa, but also a mountain formed after a volcanic eruption, making it the second largest crater in the world. Friends who have read the Coffee Roasters Asia blog or have done a lot of research on coffee should know that volcanic ash soil is an excellent nourishment for coffee beans. On the other hand, the volcanic soil of the Kilimanjaro mountain is fertile, weakly acidic and well drained, and the combination of climate and geology makes the coffee flavor rich.

In addition, Africa always gives the impression that the temperature is hot and the humidity is dry all the year round. This is really a big misunderstanding. Take Mount Kilimanjaro as an example. Although the temperature in the mountain can be as high as 59 degrees Celsius, the peak can be covered with snow all the year round, up to minus 34 degrees Celsius, so Mount Kilimanjaro is also known as the "equatorial snow peak." In terms of rainfall, the annual precipitation in the river valley can reach 800mm to 900mm; the mountains are cool and rainy, with an annual rainfall of 1600 to 1800 mm on the windward slope. Growing in the climatic and geographical environment provided by this "equatorial snow peak", one or two can guess how the flavor of coffee is particularly.

Round bean (Peaberry) vs flat bean (Flat beans)

Tanzania's round beans are definitely the icing on the cake for coffee produced in Tanzania. People may ask: what is a round bean? What are flat beans? Isn't a coffee bean just a bean? Is there a difference between roundness and evenness? Here, it may be necessary to add some information in this respect.

First of all, the real body of coffee beans is the drupe of coffee cherries, which is a kind of seed and plant. Under normal circumstances, in a coffee berry, there will be half-divided flat bean coffee seeds. This is what we call coffee beans, the scientific name is flat beans (Flat beans).

Flat bean (Flat beans)

Round bean (Peaberry)

The round bean (Peaberries) is actually a variety of coffee beans. The scientific name, also known as "caracol", "caracolillo", belongs to Spanish, which means little snail. Botanically, there are two possible reasons for the emergence of round beans: 1. Uneven pollination, 2. Nutrition is uneven in the process of growth. Rather than split into two seeds in half, the seed inside the plant does not split, so it presents a complete oval grain of an round bean. Is this common? Generally speaking, the yield of round beans is about 50% of that of flat beans. Round beans are also found in other coffee-producing countries in Africa, such as Kenya. But in the case of Tanzania, only about 5% to 10% of the fruits in local coffee production are in the shape of round beans. And the size of round beans is less than flat beans, in the process of treatment will also be screened by the net, separated from flat beans will be singled out for sale. Compared with flat beans, round beans are very rare and precious.

In terms of taste, the flavor of round beans is better, or that of flat beans is better? As a matter of fact, there is no conclusion on this, and many people are still discussing this issue. It is true that the emergence of round beans is a defect in the growth of coffee cherries, but some people think that it is reasonable that all nutrients are stored in smaller round beans, which concentrate more nutrients than ordinary flat beans, and have a more prominent flavor, sweeter and richer flavor.

The flavor of Tanzanian coffee: northern Kilimanjaro round beans

In fact, compared with other Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, there seems to be little choice of Tanzanian coffee in China's boutique coffee market. With regard to African coffee, people may have had one or two cups of Kenya or Ethiopia, but the coffee friends around them do not know much about Tanzanian coffee and are even surprised that she produces coffee. If the flower smell of Ethiopian coffee is amazing, and Kenyan coffee is famous for its acidity, how to describe Tanzanian coffee?

In the case of Coffee Roasters Asia's recent specialty coffee: Kilimanjaro beans in northern Tanzania, it is true that compared with Kenyan or Ethiopian beans, this coffee is neither as sour as Kenya nor as fragrant as Ethiopia. However, her soft and gentle acidity is as sweet and elegant as red wine. If it is roasted in a medium and light degree, its refreshing and smooth acid, orange fruit aroma, and sweet mixed with guava and sucrose, the flavor will change slightly with the change of temperature, so it is a kind of coffee with great character. If baked deeply, there will be an extra round layer: the sweetness of figs, the sweet and steady taste of caramel, and the high cleanliness will enhance the overall flavor of the coffee.

Have you ever tasted coffee from Tanzania? If the answer is no, why not start with this new coffee? It's time to discover the beauty of Tanzanian coffee. :)