We have offered Tanzania coffees from the northern and southern areas, depending on weather patterns in the year, the chronic water problems in Tanzania, and the transportation issues to get the coffee out of the country without damaging it! I feel that, as far as Tanzania goes, you have to remain open-minded and flexible as to where the best coffee lots can originate due to all these factors. Here we found a nice lot from the Ruvuma area in the south, what is known as the Mbinga district with Songea town as the commerce capital. Coffees in the south have some advantages of better drying conditions and better access to transportation. They are classic wet process coffees, with the distinction being that fermentation to remove the fruity mucilage layer around the parchment and seed is very long. They tend to ferment for 2-3 days, with water being replaced to slow the fermentation activity. This is partly done for logistics as well; coffees are dried on raised beds as in Kenya, and there is only so much room on the beds at any given time. The long soak in water serves to hold coffees until they can be laid out under the sun. Flatbean? There is so much Peaberry (aka round bean) from Tanzania, we fell like when we offer a non-peaberry lot we need to be clear it's a flatbean!

This is a classic Tanzania, with acidity more muted than a Kenya, and perhaps a slight "East Africa wild note" lingering in the finish. The dry ground coffee has a molasses sweet smell, slight floral suggestions and an apple fruit note. The wet aroma has a rustic note, but an interesting brown bread sweetness too. Darker roasts have berry fruit, while the lighter City+ level had floral-herbal scent, like a very nice shampoo(!) The cup is moderately bright, but not with those Kenya-like acidity levels. The body stands out as intense and rather creamy. Light roasts had nice aromatics, but it is the darker levels, toward 2nd crack, that have the best cup. There is a pleasant roast bittersweet tang, soft chocolate, which pairs well with the berry-like fruit hint at this slightly darker level. There's a black pepper spice accent as this FC+ roast cools - a nice ending for the cup.