TANZANIAN COFFEE: TO HAVE OR TO HAVE MORE?

It is famously said that, “Whatever it is you can do, be very good at it”. This exactly is the same for Tanzanians and their coffee. Tanzanian is not just famous because it hosts mountain Kilimanjaro but also because her coffee grows on the slope of this mountain. The Tanzanian coffee is rich, medium in body, clean, complex and soft in the mouth. Tanzanian coffee finds itself on rich, volcanic soil of Mt. Kilimanjaro which makes it a perfect plantation.

History

Coffee was brought into Tanzania from Ethiopia in the 16th century. It was not brought in to be brewed but to be used as stimulant with some other herbs. The Haya tribe was responsible for this and they did a clean job as regards this. They used it mainly for prayers, alertness and to work long hours and every method that seemed good like boiling, chewing and smoking were used. It is also said that coffee beans served as the country’s currency at a time. The tribal leaders in Tanzania brought in laws that curbed the free flow of coffee but this changed after the Germans colonized the country. It soon began to gain wave and it grew wide and far. Tanzanians before time didn’t major on Arabica but they were soon made to which they eventually fell in love with.

Coffee industry is a big one in Tanzania and it employs the capacity of more than 1.2million workers (400,000 families). Tanzania is also the third largest African producer of coffee behind Ethiopia and Kenya. Coffee is the largest export in terms of trade and sums up to 60 million dollars in revenue each year for Tanzania. No one wants to joke with a value as rare as that.

Coffee purchasers of Tanzania coffee include Japan, Italy, Germany and the United States. 

Why Tanzanian coffee?

The Tanzanian coffee widely chosen and accepted at least in the US is the peaberry. The peaberry is a single coffee gotten from rounded bean rather than two flat-sided beans. Coffee bean split into two halves while maturing and some on the other hand do not split into halves but look like pea hence the name, peaberry. 

What does it taste like?

Tanzanian coffee taste so original since it is also home to the best brand of coffee, Arabica. Arabica coffee which is about 70% of Tanzania is a sweeter coffee which grows at a high altitude than Robusta which is around 30% and it grows at a lesser altitude.

The peaberry coffee has a light body, unusually acidic, and a brighter taste profile compared to the non-peaberry coffees.

What most coffee lovers look out for while choosing their desired coffee is the sharpness, acidity, the fullness, floral profile and the softness. Amazingly, Tanzanian coffee possesses all these.

If truly you’re interested in something not wild with a nutty aroma and a little caffeine, your best deal may be a Tanzanian coffee or a peaberry. Turn up!