Tanzania Masangula AA Grade FW
Tanzania has been growing coffee for over 500 years and coffee is still considered a pivotal export. Historically Arabica production was almost exclusively grown in the North, in high altitude areas with good access to water. All coffee milling and sales was concentrated in the Moshi municipality in the Kilimanjaro district. Coffee production started in the South in the 1970s and 1980s and has been established in the Ruvuma, Mbeya and Mbozi regions.
Traceability
Country – Tanzania
Region – Mbeya
Producer – Various smallholder farmers, dry milled and exported by Lima
Altitude – 1600-2200 masl
Specifics – Lima are business people with in-house organic growers. Their smallholders become part of their team, they are the operator of the smallholder scheme, present 365 days a year at village level. They give agricultural training, supply inputs, offer crop pre-finance, provide market access, purchase direct from the individual farmer at village level and provide traceability to their customers.
Lima is derived from the Swahili words ‘Kulima’ (to farm) and ‘Wakulima’ (farmers).
Mbeya is positioned to the North of lake Nyasa (Malawi). Coffee was introduced to the Songwe Mbeya region by German missionaries, and as with much of Tanzania’s early planting, the variety was KP423. This was joined by N39; both are types of Bourbon coffee. Mbeya coffee is renowned for a stable and fruity cup. Water is often scarce when the harvest is taking place resulting in “home processing” being the traditional methodology.
KP423 was selected from Kent, a Bourbon-related population from in southwestern India. Kent was introduced to Tanzania and elsewhere in East Africa in the 1920s as part of an intensive selection program at the Lyamungu Research Station in Tanzania, focused on quality and production. KP423 was released in Tanzania in the 1940s, and made its way to Uganda, where it is an important variety in Arabica-growing regions.
It is believed that Kent descends from the first Bourbon seeds brought out of Yemen to India by Baba Budan in 1670. The various Kent-derived varieties originate with a selection made by Mr. L.P. Kent in 1911 from a single tree growing in his Doddengooda Estate in Mysore, southwestern India. It has been widely planted in India since the 1930s. It is known as the first coffee selected for rust resistance, though that resistance has since broken down.
Phytology
Botanical species – Arabica
Varietal – KP423, N39, Compact
Harvest period – June-October
Process – Fully Washed
Screen size – 17/18
Bag Size – 60 kgs
Application Suggestion
Blend
Single Origin
Espresso
Filter
Sensory
S8012568-1 – Bright, floral-honey aroma, hints of berries. Juicy, sweet cherry in flavour, citric acidity, good body.
Roast
Medium
Medium / Dark