The country of versatility.
Not many countries are more diverse than Tanzania. In the country where the big five (elephant, buffalo, leopard, wet horn, lion) are at home, over 100 languages are spoken. Tanzania is the highest point in Africa with Mount Kilimanjaro and the lowest with Lake Tanganyika. Coffee was originally chewed, not drunk. Today we find coffees in Tanzania with a medium to heavy body and an astonishing richness of aromas.
Tanzania & Coffee
The Hayas originally brought coffee into the country and use it for their spiritual rituals. In the late 19th century, the Germans took over colonial rule in Tanzania and forced the locals to grow coffee in the Bukoba region.
After World War I, Tanzania became a British colony. The British then started the Buboka coffee campaign and planted 10 million seedlings. However, these were in conflict with traditional cultivation methods of the hayas, which led to their resistance. As a consequence, production remained constant for two decades and the hoped-for yield could not be increased. With Tanzania's independence in 1962, a socialist government was formed and many farms were nationalized. The goal of increasing coffee production was again missed. As a result of inflation, declining economic power and low industrial growth, a multi-party democracy was established in the 1980s.
Today Tanzania is one of the 25 largest export countries, but its potential is far from being exhausted. Still, 450,000 smallholders account for 90% of the annual harvest. In total, around 4.5 million people are dependent on coffee production, which is around 11% of the total population.
By the way, in Buboka, where coffee production started in Tanzania, only a fraction of the annual coffee harvest is produced today. Whether the spirit of the Hayas is still here?
Backtracking
Tanzania offers many varieties of juicy and complex coffees, often with lively acidity. These can usually be traced back to the washing station. Due to a lack of infrastructure, the better coffees often come from the very large farms.
