Oral histories tell of coffee coming to Tanzania from Ethiopia in the 16th century. Brought by the Haya people and known as ‘Haya Coffee’ or amwani, this was probably a Robusta variety and has since become strongly entwined in Tanzanian culture. The ripe cherries would be boiled, then smoked for several days and chewed rather than brewed into a drink.
Coffee first became a cash crop for Tanzania (previously Tanganyika) under German colonial rule. In 1911, the colonists mandated the planting of Arabica coffee trees throughout the Bukoba region. Their methods were very different from the way the Haya people had traditionally dealt with coffee growing, and the Haya were reluctant to replace their food crops with coffee. However, the region did start to produce more and more coffee. Other parts of the country were less familiar with coffee, and so provided less resistance to growing it. The Chagga tribe, living around Mount Kilimanjaro, switched completely to coffee production when Germany put an end to the slave trade.
After World War I, control of the region fell to the British. They launched a campaign to plant over ten million seedlings in Bukoba but they, too, fell into conflict with the Haya, which often resulted in trees being uprooted. As a result, there was not a strong growth in production in the region, compared to that in the Chagga region. However, the first cooperative was formed in 1925, called the Kilimanjaro
Native Planters’ Association (KNPA). This was the first of several cooperatives, and the producers enjoyed their new-found ability to sell more directly to London and to achieve better prices.
After independence was granted in 1961, the Tanzanian government turned its attention to coffee, hoping to double production by 1970 – a goal they did not achieve. After struggling with low growth in industry, high levels of inflation and a declining economy, the government changed to a multiparty democracy.
Overlooked by Mount Kilimanjaro, these recently planted coffee trees form part of a new plantation in Mwika, Tanzania.
During the early and mid-1990s, reforms were implemented in the coffee industry to allow the more direct sale of coffee from producers to buyers, instead of driving everything through the State Coffee Marketing Board. The coffee industry suffered a serious setback in the late 1990s when coffee wilt disease spread through the country and caused significant losses of coffee trees in the north, close to the border with Uganda. Today Tanzania’s coffee production is about seventy per cent Arabica and thirty per cent Robusta.
A worker sorts through dried, harvested beans at a factory near the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. The coffee produced in this country is almost entirely harvested from smallholder farms.
TRACEABILITY
Around ninety per cent of coffee in Tanzania is produced by its 450,000 smallholder farmers. The remaining ten per cent comes from larger estates. It is possible to find coffees traceable back to a cooperative of growers and their washing station, or back to a single farm if it is an estate coffee. The better coffees I have tasted in recent years have come from the estates, and I would recommend seeking them out first.
GRADING
Tanzania uses what is sometimes called the British nomenclature of grading, similar to that in Kenya. These grades include AA, A, B, PB, C, E, F, AF, TT, UG and TEX.
TASTE PROFILE
Complex, with bright and lively acidity and often with berry and fruity flavours, Tanzanian coffees can be juicy, interesting and delicious.
GROWING REGIONS
Population: 55,570,000
Number of 60kg (132lb) bags in 2016: 870,000
Tanzania produces a reasonable quantity of Robusta, although this production is focused in the northwest, near Lake Victoria. The other growing regions are, in some ways, defined by their high altitude.
KILIMANJARO
This is the oldest growing area in Tanzania for Arabica, so it is fair to say that it has had the most time to develop its recognition internationally and build its reputation. The long tradition of coffee production here means there is better infrastructure and facilities, although a lot of the trees are now very old and have comparatively low yields. Increasingly, coffee is facing competition from other crops.
| Altitude: | 1,050–2,500m (3,500–8,100ft) |
| Harvest: | July–December |
| Varieties: | Kent, Bourbon, Typica, Typica/Nyara |
ARUSHA
Arusha borders the region around Mount Kilimanjaro, and in many ways is very similar. This region surrounds Mount Meru, an active volcano that has been quiet since 1910.
| Altitude: | 1,100–1,800m (3,600–5,900ft) |
| Harvest: | July–December |
| Varieties: | Kent, Bourbon, Typica, Typica/Nyara |
RUVUMA
This region takes its name from the Ruvuma river and is in the extreme south of the country. The coffee tends to be centred around the Mbingo district, and is considered to have great potential for high quality, although in the past it has been held back by a lack of access to finance.
| Altitude: | 1,200–1,800m (3,900–5,900ft) |
| Harvest: | June–October |
| Varieties: | Kent, Bourbon, Bourbon derivatives such as N5 and N39 |
MBEYA
Centred around the city of Mbeya in the south of the country, this region is a key producer of high-value export crops including coffee, tea, cacao and spices. The area has recently seen increased interest from certification groups and non-government organizations looking to improve the quality of the coffee produced, which traditionally has not always been very high.
| Altitude: | 1,200–2,000m (3,900–6,600ft) |
| Harvest: | June–October |
| Varieties: | Kent, Bourbon, Typica |
TARIME
This is a small region in the far north of the country, bordering Kenya, with a limited international profile. It is starting to produce some higher-quality coffees and has the opportunity to expand its production. It has a relatively low production and limited infrastructure for coffee processing, but the increased attention it has seen recently has led to coffee production being tripled in the last ten years.
| Altitude: | 1,500–1,800m (4,900–5,900ft) |
| Harvest: | July–December |
| Varieties: | Kent, Bourbon, Typica, Robustas |
KIGOMA
This region is named for the regional capital city of Kigoma, and is situated on a plateau of gently rolling hills in the northeast of the country near the border with Burundi. The region has produced some stunning coffees, though the industry there is still in its infancy compared to the rest of the country.
| Altitude: | 1,100–1,700m (3,600–5,600ft) |
| Harvest: | July–December |
| Varieties: | Kent, Bourbon, Typica |