Green Tanzanian Mkulima Kwanza (N, PB) coffee beans

The Green Tanzanian Mkulima Kwanza is a naturally processed peaberry we source via Bespoke.

Tanzania coffee

The pre-colonial history is an oral one. The Haya people are said to have bought with them an amwani or Haya Coffee. Probably this was a Robusta variety. Ripe cherries are boiled then smoked for several days. Following this, they are enjoyed by chewing. Today this ritual is firmly entwined in Tanzanian culture¹.

Under German colonial rule, Arabica trees were planted throughout the Bukoba region. In some areas, there was resistance to replace the food-producing crops with coffee. The first tribe to adopt coffee production on a large scale was the Chagga. Based around Mount Kilimanjaro, they became the leaders in growing Arabica in Tanzania.

The Kilimanjaro Native Planters’ Association (KNPA) is believed to have been the first cooperative. Cooperatives are the way most of the coffee business works in Tanzania. While there are a small number of large estates, to this day almost all Tanzanian coffee is grown by smallholders. They sell their cherry to the cooperative, who then process,  package and export the coffees. Reforms in the 1990s allowed a more direct sales model from producers to buyers, by-passing the State Coffee Marketing Board.

Tanzanian Mkulima Kwanza

As mentioned above, we sourced this coffee via Bespoke. 2019 was the first year of Bespoke working with the Kwanza co-operative. Kwanza is based in the Southern Highlands region of Tanzania. Bespoke first met Keremba Warioba (founder and CEO of Communal Communal Shamba). Keremba was not producing coffee at the time. Specifically, he had traveled to visit some coffee producers in Burundi that Bespoke had worked with before. Keremba was in Burundi to get a deeper understanding of their processing methods. It was fortunate that Keremba was staying in the same guesthouse as the members of the Bespoke team. Team members got on well with Keremba. His vision for his home town in Tanzanian they found enticing. So a relationship formed that resulted in the Bespoke keeping in touch.

Organic Growth

Over the last two years, Communal Shamba has grown from producing 1200kgs in 2017, to 30,000kgs in 2018. Despite a significant change in the structure of how coffee is traded at the national level (see direct trade mention above). The co-operative growth is a testament to Keremba’s belief in his vision and ability to co-ordante in a community he is familiar with.

This station only produces Natural coffees. Since the area has a water scarcity, the natural process is a good fit. However, this method does require more considerable attention to detail. Keremba’s organisational ability has driven the quality of the process, which is evident in the cleanliness of cup. Added to this is an impressive thick body coffee. Taste notes include cherry and stone fruit flavours, while still retaining the classic syrup sweetness of a well processed natural coffee.

Details of Mkulima Kwanza

¹: The World Atlas of Coffee, James Hoffman