I’m going to talk about a rare country that has Lake Victoria, the largest lake on the African continent, and Mount Kilimanjaro, the largest mountain. In fact, what makes this country unique is not only these natural beauties but also the coffee beans, also known as Tanzanian coffee, as well as these natural beauties. Some even world-famous coffees.

The story of Tanzania Coffee began in the 19th century when Catholic missionaries introduced coffee in this region. Today, most Tanzanian coffee consists of Arabica coffee beans, as well as those famous coffee beans known as Robusta, Nyassa, and Blue Mountain. One of the reasons that contribute to the abundance of the crop is that the region has a volcanic structure. The coffee trade accounts for roughly 20% of Tanzania’s exports. Unfortunately, coffee bean yield per tree is very low because they still do not use enough advanced technology and agricultural methods in coffee farming. In fact, because the coffee beans grown in the region mature at different rates, harvesters return to the same tree several times to collect the mature coffee beans. The low yield of coffee beans obtained from vehicles causes coffee prices in Tanzania to be low. Of course, this vicious circle also exacerbates the lack of training and equipment in coffee production, because the coffee produced is only sufficient for the subsistence of families working on coffee farms.

In Tanzania, approximately 500,000 families work on coffee farms. If we take all into account, around 2.5-3 million people are employed in the coffee industry. Almost all of the coffee in Tanzania comes from the small coffee farms where these people work and spread around the world. Tanzanian coffee accounts for 0.56% of the world coffee market. It ranks 16th in the world as a coffee producer.

As in Ethiopia and some other African countries, coffee beans are put on the market through auctions. However, it is also possible to buy from the manufacturer itself. If you like the coffee beans you bought from Tanzania before and you want to work with the same farm, you can also buy the products directly from the exporter. The biggest benefit of this is to the farms. If a farm has obtained a quality product from that year’s coffee harvest and knows this on the buyer’s side, it can find a buyer at a better price than it will sell in the market. In the long run, this contributes to the producer’s efforts to invest more in his business and to obtain better quality coffees.

70% of the coffees produced in Tanzania consist of Arabica, Kent, Nyassa, and Blue Mountain coffees. Robusta’s make up 30% of it. The Kagera and Bukoba regions along Lake Victoria produce 25% of Tanzania’s most naturally processed Robusta. The aromas of Robustas obtained near Lake Victoria are heavy-bodied and sweet. Arabicas from the remaining regions have a citrus and berry-like aroma.

Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions, located around Mount Kilimanjaro, are other regions where quality coffee is produced due to its volcanic structure. Other places where coffee production is intense are Mbeya, Ruvuma, Mbinga, and the surrounding Usambara Mountain.