Zambia has been, for quite some time, overlooked by much of the speciality coffee industry. One could argue that it is a chicken-and-egg situation, as historically little interest from speciality buyers has led to little investment in quality, and little investment in quality has led to little interest from speciality buyers.
Coffee was introduced to Zambia in the 1950s, by missionaries who brought Bourbon seed stock from Tanzania and Kenya. However, the industry did not gear up production until the late 1970s and early 1980s with the assistance of funding from the World Bank. Problems with pests and diseases led growers to adopt the Catimor hybrid, which is less delicious than Bourbon. This was, in some ways, a temporary switch and the government went back to recommending Bourbon, but there is still a fair amount of Catimor in the country.
Zambia’s coffee exports peaked in 2005/2006 at around 6,500 tonnes (7,150 tons), but have dropped dramatically since. Some attribute the drop to low prices and a crucial lack of long-term financing in the industry. In addition to this, the country’s largest producer closed in 2008 after defaulting on its loans. The Northern Coffee Corp was producing one-third of the country’s 6,000 tonnes (6,600 tons) at the time of closure. Total production dropped to just 300 tonnes (330 tons) in 2012, although it now seems to be recovering.
Most of Zambia’s coffee comes from larger estates, although there has been some encouragement of smallholders too. The estates are generally well run, have good access to modern equipment (because coffee production started relatively late here), and may be owned by multinationals. Smallholder farming has struggled to take hold, access to fertilizers and equipment has been difficult and generally the quality has not been high. The lack of access to water and decent post-harvest processing has further hindered the production of clean, sweet coffees.
TRACEABILITY
The best coffees in Zambia tend to come from single estates, although you may have to look hard for them. Not only is overall production small in Zambia, but high-quality coffees are not commonplace. Frustratingly, the country has the undeniable potential to produce stellar coffees, from its seed stock to its geography.
Once ripened, coffee cherries are picked by workers on Zambia’s plantations, most of which are large, well-run estates that have good access to modern equipment.
TASTE PROFILE
The rare, excellent coffees are bright and floral, with a clean fruit-like complexity.
GROWING REGIONS
Population: 16,590,000
Number of 60kg (132lb) bags in 2016: 2,000
The regions in Zambia are not well defined, and are typically just referred to as Southern, Central, Copperbelt and Northern regions. Coffee is mainly grown in the Northern district of the Muchinga Mountains (an area that includes the regions of Isoka,Nakonde and Kasama) and around the capital city Lusaka.
| Altitude: | 900–2,000m (3,000–6,600ft) |
| Harvest: | April–September |
| Varieties: | Bourbon, Catimor |