What Does Tanzania AA Mean for Kilimanjaro Coffee?

Tanzania AA refers to the largest screen-size grade of Tanzanian coffee beans, and the AA label says nothing about flavor on its own. What shapes the cup is the terroir: Kilimanjaro coffee grows on the fertile volcanic soil around Mount Kilimanjaro, where high altitude and wide temperature swings give a delicate texture and soft acidity.

Tanzania's main growing areas sit at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, and some trees there are over a hundred years old. Coffee was first planted by Christians from Kenya, and the crop remains an important cash earner. Careful weeding, fertilizing, and pruning of old branches help maintain coffee quality, while washing and grading prepare the beans for roasting and cupping.

Although Tanzania is not the most famous among African coffee-producing countries, its coffee quality is quite outstanding. This article focuses on Tanzanian AA coffee beans, first explaining what the AA grading means, then delving into the terroir conditions of the Kilimanjaro region, the characteristics of the Typica variety, and the washed processing flow. It also compiles Front Street Coffee's roasting curve, cupping report, and brewing parameters to help coffee enthusiasts fully understand the flavor performance of this bean. If you are curious about what Tanzanian AA actually means, how Kilimanjaro coffee tastes, and how much a cup costs, this article will provide clear answers.

Tanzania is located in Africa and is a coffee-producing country. Its fame may not be high, but the quality of its coffee is impressive. Front Street has rarely reviewed Tanzanian beans in the past, partly because it had not encountered coffee that fully showcased the characteristics of the region. However, the Kilimanjaro coffee reviewed this time brought a different experience. Kilimanjaro is one of the country's important coffee-growing regions, and the other is Arusha. So why can Kilimanjaro become an important producing area?

According to Front Street's understanding, Mount Kilimanjaro has an altitude of nearly 6,000 meters and is a famous snow-capped peak on the African continent. Its geographical location is exactly on the equator, and it is called the "Roof of Africa." The area around the peak is covered with fertile volcanic soil, and the temperature difference brought by the high altitude gives Kilimanjaro coffee a delicate texture and soft acidity, which are also typical characteristics of African coffee. It can be seen that Tanzanian coffee still has much room for Front Street to explore.

Tanzania's main coffee-producing areas are distributed at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, where volcanic soil is abundant, and some coffee trees are already more than a hundred years old. Coffee was first introduced and planted by Christians from Kenya. Coffee trees require careful care, including weeding and fertilization, and old branches must also be pruned to encourage new branch growth in order to maintain coffee bean quality. The equipment at local coffee bean processing plants is quite complete. Coffee beans are an important cash crop in Tanzania, and the government also attaches considerable importance to the industry.

Kilimanjaro coffee comes from the slope-producing area of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, known as the Roof of Africa. The sunny climate conditions make the coffee rich in robust fruit aromas and a faint peach fragrance. This coffee is produced on Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain range in northeastern Tanzania. It has excellent quality, a rich aroma, and prominent acidity, making it suitable for blending into composite coffee. The coffee beans produced here have extraordinary quality. The production area is located in the Moshi district near Mount Kilimanjaro. The mountainous zone at an altitude of 3,000 to 6,000 feet is most suitable for coffee cultivation, and the fertile volcanic ash gives the coffee a thick texture and soft acidity.

The Tanzanian coffee reviewed by Front Street exudes a delicate fragrance and carries aromas of wine and fruit, leaving a long aftertaste after tasting. After drinking Kilimanjaro coffee, one always feels a soft, mellow earthy taste lingering at the corners of the mouth. Coffee gourmets often use words like "wild" or "wildness" to describe it. It can be said that authentic Kilimanjaro coffee is "the coffee with the most African characteristics." Kilimanjaro AA is the highest-grade bean, with plump beans, pure flavor, rich and refreshing taste, and superior quality in all aspects.

In terms of variety

The variety of Front Street Tanzania Kilimanjaro coffee is Typica. Typica coffee trees are relatively tall, with bronze-colored leaves at the top. The coffee beans are relatively large and long, with pointed and upturned ends, somewhat egg-shaped. Typica coffee beans often carry citrus acidity and a sweet aftertaste, and are praised by many as elegant and clear coffee beans. However, Typica trees are very tall, making picking inconvenient. Typica coffee trees are very tall, about 5 meters (16.5 feet), conical in shape, with slightly sloping branches, and the side branches form a 50 to 70 degree angle with the vertical stem. The trunk is slender, and the branches are very thin. Due to its height and long-branch characteristics, sufficient spacing between plants is needed when planting Typica.

In addition, Typica has very poor disease resistance and struggles to resist common diseases such as leaf rust and berry disease, and its yield is also very scarce. As a cash crop, coffee is difficult to make profitable, so many growers in various places choose to give up and switch to other varieties with better disease resistance. To grow Typica coffee beans with excellent flavor, more labor costs and technical research are required, which is also why Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is so precious.

Washed processing

Front Street Tanzania Kilimanjaro uses washed processing. Tanzanian coffee is mostly processed by the washed method. After picking, coffee farmers send the coffee cherries to the nearest processing plant for processing.

Steps of the washed processing method: 1. Screen and remove impurities mixed into the coffee cherries; 2. Remove the coffee pulp and outer skin; 3. Send them into a fermentation tank to remove the pectin layer adhering to the parchment through fermentation; 4. After cleaning thoroughly, carry out drying.

Grading system

Tanzania's coffee grading method is the same as Kenya's, both grading by coffee bean size. During screening, green coffee beans are passed through screens with fixed-size holes. The larger the screen number, the larger the green coffee bean size.

AA grade: Screen Size between 17 and 18 mesh (7.20mm screen), which is the highest classification. Therefore, when buying Tanzanian coffee, look for Front Street Kilimanjaro Washed AA.

AB grade: Screen Size between 15 and 16 mesh (6.8mm~6.2mm screen),

PB grade: round green beans, accounting for about 10% of all coffee beans

C grade: Screen Size between 12 and 14 mesh (4.8mm~5.6mm screen)

[FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Curve]

Kilimanjaro coffee consists of large, uniformly sized coffee beans with a gray-green color. Compared with others, it has stronger acidity and a sweet aroma, with excellent flavor. After medium-light roasting, it gives off sweetness and light acidity. Charge temperature: 170°C, turning point: 6:30, 150.8, first crack: 10:06, 182.7°C, first crack development 1 minute 45 seconds, drop at 193°C.

[FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report]

Dry aroma: caramel

Wet aroma: berry

Cupping result: citrus on entry, berry, tea-like

Front Street Tanzania Kilimanjaro AA Coffee Beans

Region: Northern Highlands, Kilimanjaro volcanic area

Variety: Typica

Processing method: washed

Grade: AA

Altitude: 1300-2000m

[Front Street Coffee Brewing Parameters]

Dripper: V60 Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Water temperature: 91°C Grind size: EK43s grinder setting 10

[Front Street Coffee Brewing Method]

30g-125g-225g. Bloom with 30g water for 30 seconds. After blooming, pour in a circular motion to 125g. When the water level drops to half, continue pouring in a circular motion to 225g.

[Front Street Coffee Flavor Description]

For this Front Street Kilimanjaro coffee, we can perceive a balanced flavor of honey, berry, tea-like notes, and nuts. To enjoy a cup, it costs only 30 yuan.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.