Tanzania Coffee Beans – How to Brew, Grind & Buy These Beans

Tanzania, alongside Ethiopia, is the leading coffee-producing nation in the Sub-Saharan African region. The only countries that are somewhat close to these two in the surrounding regions are Kenya in the South and Ivory Coast to the West.

However, among all of these challenges, Tanzanian coffee is still able to shine through with its delicious aroma and exquisite characteristics.

Tanzanian Arabica coffees are grown on the northern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru, under the shade of banana trees, in a truly exotic location for this east African coffee, as well as in the Southern Highlands of Songwe, Mbeya, and Ruvuma regions, where coffee and bananas are intercropped.

The country focuses on many different varieties of coffee, but their primary export is concentrated in the following six:

Top Tanzanian Coffee Growing Regions

Tanzania is located east of Africa’s Great Lakes region, bordering the Indian Ocean. It is here that the continent’s highest point, Mount Kilimanjaro, and its lowest point, deep beneath the surface of Lake Tanganyika, are found. In between these two extremes lie the vast plains of the Serengeti, where nearly 2 million wildebeest begin their great circular migration each January.

There are several regions in Tanzania where coffee production is a big and important thing and these Tanzania coffee regions are known for that very thing. The top producing regions are:

• Mbinga
• Ngara
• North Kilimanjaro
• Usambara Mountains
• Kigoma
• Mbeya
• Iringa
• Matengo
• Morogoro

Coffee can be grown in all of the mentioned regions of Tanzania, but now we will be focusing on a selected few, specifically on two regions of Tanzania: Mbeya in the southwest, and the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in the northeast, also known as the Scotland of Africa.

Mbeya

Mbeya is graced with gentle slopes and lush river basins Heather and Bracken carpet the hillsides and waterfalls around it takes little effort to grow a successful crop here in fact the maize wheat and coffee beans are the primary plants grown here. There are many companies that manufacture organic Tanzania coffee which they directly source from Mbeya, but due to difficulties of cultivation, it may sometimes get a bit pricey.

Growing Tanzanian Coffee Beans on Kilimanjaro

Mount Kilimanjaro’s northern slopes produced some of the world’s best mild Arabica beans. This mythic mountain towers above the African continent and its growing regions are home to a perfect tropical wet and dry climate. The earth here is fertile, and you can see avocados, mangoes, bananas, and beans growing in nearby fields, but the crown jewel of Kilimanjaro is its sweet mild Arabica beans.

About 60% of the Arabica production in Tanzania coffee regions is home processed or pulped, fermented and sun-dried by individual farmers or small groups of growers using hand-powered and locally crafted equipment, bursting with an extraordinary combination of milk chocolate and citrus flavors enhanced by an aromatic punch of caramel and more chocolate.

The rest of the country’s Arabica is processed at central pulping units, which are typically run by cooperatives of smallholders. Each cooperative has its own independent wet mill, where ripe cherries ferment for one to two days before being washed and air-dried. This method has a more consistent cupping profile and attracts a higher premium than beams at a hacienda.

Top 5 Tanzanian Coffee Brands on Amazon

Tanzanian coffee is definitely not hard to find by any means of the word. But, finding good beans is a pretty big hassle that can cost you. So, we did the spending and the tasting for you, and offer you now a list of the best products we’ve tested so far.

How We Rated Them

We pay attention to the following:

• Price
• Company Background
• Taste
• Shelf-life
• Additives

For more detailed information on how exactly we rate the coffee products we suggest in our guides, click here.

Individual Overviews of Our Top Choices

In this section of the guide, we’ll be discussing our top five picks of brands that produce some of the best quality products, specifically Tanzanian coffee beans. All of the companies ethically source their products and have been advocates for many social issues that are evident within the industry. This is something that sets apart them from their competitors.

Tanzanian Peaberry Medium Roast

If you are looking for the best Tanzania coffee then you should definitely check this product on Amazon. Tanzania Peaberries are a naturally occurring mutation of the coffee seed that develops into a single, tiny, rounder unit rather than the two “flat beans” that normally sit face-to-face inside a coffee cherry. The flavor strength of the smaller, denser peaberries is regarded to be higher, and “peaberry plus” is a higher grade than the ordinary peaberry lot. With Coffee Bros, we can surely say that affordability is not an issue. It’s a medium roast that has a significant aroma.

They are significantly more expensive due to their restricted amount and the labor necessary in separating them out. The flavors of this Tanzania coffee were floral-like in the sense that they were not unduly forceful in the way that most medium roasts are.

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Tanzanian Peaberry Civilized Coffee

This is a roasted coffee. To ensure quality and best flavor we have tried it ourselves as well and needless to say it stands on its own. It tastes exactly how Tanzania coffee should taste like, rich in balanced flavors of red currant, brown spice, and a caramel finish. For a fairly reasonable price, one can get the utmost authentic Tanzanian coffee experience with just a single sip of this amazing mixture of variable tastes.

There are no preservatives in it, it is degassed 24 to 48 hours before packaging. The most suitable methods of making a cup of coffee from these products are in a French Press, Pour Over, Drip coffee maker, Percolator, or an AeroPress.

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Tanzania Peaberry Mount Kilimanjaro

Volcanica would never, in their years of market dominance, miss the chance of sourcing and roasting coffee beans from Mount Kilimanjaro. Just the fact when you know that the beans you’re roasting came from one of the tallest mountains on Earth, makes you yearn for it even more.

Much like with their other products, Volcanica roasts these Tanzania Kilimanjaro beans by order, meaning you will always get freshly roasted coffee when you place an order. The packaging of the product is 16 ounces. Tanzanian Peaberry Coffee from Mount Kilimanjaro’s slopes will excite you like no other coffee you have ever tried before, it has qualities that are rare to find in a coffee bean which is beautifully acidic taste, notably, it has a thick body, powerful flavor, and a fragrant scent with mellow winey overtones.

Whole beans have been roasted to a medium level, allowing the true flavor characteristics to shine through for a truly exceptional taste.

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Tanzania Good as Gold Peaberry

By purchasing this product you will be getting 12 ounces of Tanzania peaberry whole bean coffee, a unique coffee with a smooth buttery body, and a sweet delicate finish medium roast. This product is roasted in Good as Gold’s custom-built air roaster which provides delicious, high-quality coffee at a great value. The price is favorable by the consumers and the quality is top-notch.

Good as Gold is a family-run business that is conscious about the ways they produce their products. They are incredibly eco-friendly and ethically source all of their beans. “Good as gold” as a Tanzania coffee company has quite the experience and is aware of the intricacies of the coffee industry. This is why they always provide top-notch products at an affordable price range.

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Tanzanian Peaberry Unroasted

FRC’s approach to the process of freshly roasted coffee starts at the source. They source their coffees with the highest care and integrity, looking for high-quality specialty coffees that promote their fundamental principle of sustainability while also assisting the regions throughout the world fighting to improve their own livelihoods and the specialty coffee industry.

This Tanzania coffee production company uses the most modern machinery on the planet to roast the freshest coffee beans. In a smokeless coffee roasting environment, they have reduced carbon emissions by up to 80%. Their Loring Smart Roasters uses cutting-edge roasting technology to improve total coffee bean flavor, quality, and roasting precision while reducing carbon emissions.

I’ve tried a wide range of different types from this brand myself. This is, without a doubt, the greatest coffee you can roast. This bean is a one-stop-shop for a multi-flavored experience. I noticed a couple of things. The rest period is substantially longer than that of other beans. The off-gas cycle is more time-consuming. No matter your coffee maker type even after 5 days, it will have some acidity, and by 7 days, it will get even more evident. In fact, the acidity of this coffee in particular is its unique aspect that is favored by so many coffee lovers around the world.

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Best Machines for Brewing Tanzanian Coffee at Home

There are a few ways that you can make Tanzania coffee so we will go through the most common ones.

Stovetop

A stovetop coffee maker can be pretty much anything you put on a stove. This can be a percolator like the Moka Pot, or this can be a small kettle that you put on the stove to brew your favorite coffee, but consider that this will have quite a lot of residue inside. You will have to use some kind of colander or a filter to take those grounds out because otherwise, it’s going to be a really unpleasant experience.

With the stovetop brew, you’re able to concentrate the flavors much more than with any other coffee machine.

Best Stovetops Listed

Espresso Machine

An Espresso Machine is the perfect option for brewing Tanzanian coffee beans due to the pressure it inhibits on the beans and concentrates the flavor.

It’s a common way to make dark roast coffee instead of light roast, but it’s also good with medium roast beans that produce the most balanced flavors of acidity as well as sweet undertones.

However, expect more of a bitter taste with this method as you’re used to getting in coffee shops and cafes.

Espresso Machines Rated Here

Frequently Asked Questions on Tanzanian Coffee Online