The Tanzania coffee character belongs to the Central/East African family of washed (wet-processed) coffees, bright (acidic), and almost aggressively flavorful. Kenya is certainly the dominant coffee, but Tanzania has also pushed ahead and shows many of the same positive qualities of Kenya.

Peaberries are often sorted out and sold at high premiums, but the cup is sometimes tainted and not worth the price. It has become a novelty coffee, and sells well in the US, so many roasters capitulate. Yes, it is a coffee with great potential but shipments arriving in the US do not always express that truly excellent Tanzanian cup. One possibility is the coffee ages (or is steamed essentially) in shipping containers on its way to port, since Tanzania does not have the infrastructure of Kenya. Every so often I cup a really good example of this coffee, but some years are a complete bust. The problem is that Tanzania has realized it gets a premium for its peaberry no matter the quality ... so what's the incentive to actually pick and care for the coffee better, to prevent this defective character?

Blackburn Estate from Ngorogoro has been a consistently good arrival, the highest rated Tanzania in recent memory. Ruvuma district has been a solid cup, with the generic "Northern" coffees, and Kibo having that off, baggy, "steamed in the container" note. The Southern type is clean cup, zesty, albeit mild next to the Kenyas. In the past, we had micro-lots from Nkoanekoli and Ngorongoro that represent progress from the other regions.

So keep in mind that if there is a current Tanzanian offering listed here, it had to overcome my cynicism and must be pretty damn good. Of the good Tanzanian coffees there are northern regions around Mt. Kilimanjaro, Moshi, Mbeya region and Southern Songea region that drains into the Ruvuma river and Ruvuma Basin.