Three Marks - Tanzania Korongo

Flavours of dates, cocoa and marzipan

These beans are suitable for an espresso.

The coffee comes from Mbozi, Mbeya in Tanzania.

1600 - 1900 m above sea level

Blue Mountain, Bourbon, SL28, Typica

Fully Washed processing method

The Project

The Korongo coffee project, named after the Swahili word for flamingo, is based in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania and covers the regions of Mbozi, Mbeya and Mbinga. Most farmers are small-scale producers with plots ranging from 0.5 to 3 hectares, where they grow coffee alongside other crops such as maize, beans and sunflowers.

Coffee has been an essential part of Tanzanian culture and economy since the 16th century. Today, it provides 5% of the country’s export earnings and employs around 2.4 million people. The supply chain is complex due to the remote locations of the farmers, who often grow at high altitudes. The distance to the main export ports of Dar es Salaam and Tanga also plays a role.

The Coffee

The coffee cherries are hand-picked by the farmers, who then process them on their own farms. This leads to some variation in methods. Most commonly, the cherries are pulped with an eco-pulper or a standard pulper, followed by fermentation. After fermentation, the beans, now in parchment, are dried on raised beds for 14 to 20 days.

After drying, the parchment is stored in cooperative warehouses for 2 to 3 months. After this rest period, it is transferred to mills in the Mbozi or Mbinga districts, where it is prepared for export.

Tanzanian coffee is classified based on bean size, with AB beans being between 6 and 7 millimeters in size, ensuring consistent quality that is highly valued in the marketplace.