Specialty coffee Tanzania Acacia Hills

Species: Arabica Altitude: 1750-1950 masl Process: Natural Screen: 16+ Variety: Kent Production Area: Oldeani Producer: Acacia Hills farm Martines Category: Specialty coffee

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Region Kenya

      
Information: Leon’s farm, Acacia Hills, was listed as the winner of a private auction in Tanzania organized by ACE (The Alliance for Coffee Excellence). Tanzania is still in its infancy as a specialty coffee-producing country.

The history of coffee in northern Tanzania begins in the 19th century. Coffee trees were brought to north Tanzania from Reunion Island near Madagascar and immigrants from Germany, the occupying country at the time, developed it into an industry.

Leon’s grandparents were immigrants who came to Tanzania from Greece around the early 1900s and made a living from coffee production. Leon is the third generation of the family. The family’s house is on Arusha's outskirts, near the Kilimanjaro International Airport. His grandfather and father mostly grew coffee in its surrounding plantations, but the land was not suitable for producing high-quality coffee due to its low altitude. Leon learned about the concept of specialty coffee in the 2000s and started looking for lands in high altitudes that could produce higher-quality coffee