April, 2008

Specialty Estate Coffee of the Month - Tanzania

This month we find ourselves next door to one of the world’s powerhouse of coffee production. Close to the Kenyan border you will find Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Fast becoming one of the most popular coffee brands of the world, we thought it about time we roasted some to find out why…

Harvested in the months of October to February, over 90% of Tanzanian coffee is usually grown on small farms as a cash crop. The reliable rainfall, big rivers and rich Volcanic soil of Mount Kilimanjaro make the country suitable for agriculture and ideal growing conditions for wet-processed "acidic" Arabica Coffee.

The grading system is somewhat similar to its neighbor, Kenya, having AA grade as the main source, and then followed by the lower grades of A and B. We have purchased the better AA grade variety to help create a much better cup quality.

The Tanzanian coffee bean is said to share the same sharp and winey acidity flavours as other African coffees. So we firstly roasted the coffee to medium style roast profile, only to find most sweet flavours were lost. Our second finding at a light medium roast produced a wonderful cup of coffee with strong, rich, aggressive flavours and a clove-like finish on the palate.

A GREAT single shot latte a Powerful double espresso is the way to go, like all the best things in life they are perfect in many ways. So click the order button to enjoy the finest taste of Africa.

ENJOY!
The Koffee Purist