Tanzania is still in its infancy as a specialty coffee producing country, but this naturally processed bourbon coffee varietal we’ve sourced from the Acacia Hills farm is a vivid reflection of the future of specialty coffee in this country. Sourced from the highest altitude coffee farm in this region of Tanzania, positioned approx 300 km west of Mt Kilimanjaro and south-east of the picturesque volcano Mount Oldeani, to the edge of the Ngororero Conservation area.

The history of coffee in northern Tanzania began in the 19th century when coffee trees were brought to northern Tanzania from Reunion Island near Madagascar and immigrants from Germany, the occupying country at the time, developed it into an industry. Leon Christianakis, Acacia Hills owner, is a third generation Greek-immigrant coffee producer, who was raised on coffee plantations - but, the lands were not suitable for producing high quality coffee due to low altitudes.

The Acacia Hills coffee plantation has seen nearly 20 years of farm renovation, new plantings, soil analysis, and refined post-harvest processes, in owners’ Leon Christianakis pursuit of quality to provide high-altitude specialty coffee, alongside business partner, and coffee roaster from Portland, Mark Stell.

The resulting efforts show in this wild, wooly coffee, roasted for filter and espresso, boasting flavours of dark fruits, fig and rustic molasses sweetness. This is a Natural processed coffee, which means the seeds are dried with the cherry still intact. This leads to more fruity flavours in the cup, and characteristics like increased body, and lower levels of acidity.