Blueberry, Grape, Lemon Iced Tea

Producer: Kochoni Farm
Origin: Arashu, Tanzania
Process: Washed
Elevation: 1400 masl
Varietal: Batian, KP423, N39

This fully washed lot is from Kochoni farm, one of the highest elevation plots at Kilimanjaro Estate on the southern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. The estate has a total area of 663ha, making it one of the largest in northern Tanzania. Of these, 565ha are planted with coffee while the remaining 98ha are kept as preserved natural forest. 

The Process

Despite its large scale, the processing at the estate is still manual. All cherries are hand-picked selectively to ensure optimum ripeness. After pulping, the coffee is fermented and then washed in grading channels to sort by density.

All the coffee is sun dried on raised African drying tables to a moisture content of 10.5%. The estate also employs a Q-grader to cup every lot and provide sensory analysis.

Social and Sustainability

Through its Community and Economic Development branch, Kilimajaro Plantations Ltd. (KPL) allocates at least $17,000 annually to projects, divided into three main areas: the CSR Fund ($8,500) for environmental and social needs, the Education Fund ($6000) for sponsoring local youth in vocational, diploma, and degree programs, and the Development Fund ($2,500) for Rural Community Societies to support their communities.

The estate has planted more than 10,000 indiginous shade trees across the plantation to protect the soil and coffee plants from the East African sun. They are also instrumental in helping stablize the micro-climate and fight against deforestation in the region. The entire farm is equipped with a drip-line irrigation system which provides constant water and nutrient uptake for every single coffee tree throughout the year. This drip-line irrigation reduces water consumption by 60%.