How Should You Brew Kilimanjaro Coffee at Home?

Kilimanjaro coffee from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro is grown in fertile volcanic soil at high altitude, which gives the beans a delicate texture and soft acidity. The AA lot is Typica variety, washed processed, and medium-light roasted, showing honey, berries, tea-like notes, and nuts. It is Tanzania's most recognized coffee-growing area alongside Arusha.

Mount Kilimanjaro rises nearly 6,000 meters near the equator, and some trees on these farms are over 100 years old. Coffee was first planted here by farmers from Kenya. Typica coffee responds well to filter brewing, so a V60 with a moderate grind and steady pours highlights the sweetness and acidity. Grading, processing, and roast curve all shape the final cup.

Although Tanzania is not among the most famous coffee-producing countries in Africa, the quality of its coffee often impresses. The producing region at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, the Roof of Africa, nurtures coffee beans with a delicate texture and soft acidity thanks to its fertile volcanic soil and the large temperature swings at high altitude. The Kilimanjaro AA that Front Street Coffee evaluates this time uses the Typica variety and washed processing, and after a medium-light roast it presents a complex flavor of honey, berries, tea-like notes, and nuts. This article will fully explain the country's grading system, variety characteristics, and processing methods, and share Front Street's roasting curve, cupping report, and V60 brewing parameters, taking you deeper into this most African-flavored specialty coffee.

For more specialty coffee knowledge, please follow: Front Street Coffee ( Frontsteet Coffee )

Tanzania is a coffee-producing country in Africa. Although it is not very famous, its coffee quality is impressive. Front Street has very rarely evaluated Tanzanian coffee, partly because it had not found coffee that could highlight the flavor of the producing region, but this time the Kilimanjaro coffee being evaluated is different. Kilimanjaro is one of the country's important coffee-growing areas, and the other is Arusha. Why is Kilimanjaro one of the important growing areas?

Let Front Street tell you: Mount Kilimanjaro alone reaches nearly 6,000 meters in altitude. Mount Kilimanjaro is a famous snow-capped peak on the African continent, located on the equator, and is known as the "Roof of Africa." The mountain has fertile volcanic soil, and the temperature differences at high altitude give Kilimanjaro coffee its delicate texture and soft acidity, which are characteristics of African coffee. From this, it can be seen that Tanzania's coffee still awaits Front Street's exploration.

Tanzania's main coffee-producing region is located at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. This area has rich volcanic soil, and some coffee trees planted here are over 100 years old. Coffee was first introduced and planted by Christians from Kenya. Coffee trees must be carefully cared for, with weeding and fertilizing. Old branches must also be pruned so that new branches can grow to maintain coffee bean quality. The equipment at coffee bean processing plants is quite complete; coffee beans are considered an important cash crop in Tanzania, and the local government attaches great importance to this industry.

From the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa and known as the Roof of Africa, with its sunny climate, the coffee is rich in solid fruity aroma and a light peach fragrance. Kilimanjaro coffee is produced on Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain range in northeastern Tanzania. Its coffee quality is excellent, with a rich aroma and prominent acidity, suitable for blending in coffee blends. This kind of coffee bean has extraordinary quality. Produced in the Moshi district near Mount Kilimanjaro, the mountainous area from 3,000 to 6,000 feet is the most suitable region for cultivating coffee, and the fertile volcanic ash gives the coffee here a rich body and soft acidity.

It gives off a delicate fragrance and contains aromas of wine and fruit, leaving an endless aftertaste after tasting. After drinking Kilimanjaro coffee, one always feels a soft, mellow earthy taste at the corners of the mouth. Coffee gourmets often describe it with words like "wild" or "wildness." 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 top quality in all aspects.

Variety

The variety of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Tanzania Kilimanjaro coffee is Typica. The Typica coffee tree is relatively tall, and the leaves at the top are bronze-colored. The coffee beans are relatively large and long, with both ends pointed and slightly upturned, somewhat like an egg. Typica coffee beans often have a citrusy acidity with a sweet aftertaste, and are praised by many as an elegant and clearly flavored coffee bean. Unfortunately, the Typica tree is very tall and inconvenient to pick. The Typica coffee tree is very tall, about 5 meters/16.5 feet. It is conical in shape, with slightly sloping branches, and the lateral branches form a 50-70° angle with the vertical stem. Its trunk is slender and its branches are very thin. Because of its height and long-branch characteristics, when planting Typica trees, sufficient spacing is needed between plants.

In addition, Typica has very poor disease resistance and struggles to resist the most common diseases such as leaf rust and berry disease, and its yield is also very low. As a cash crop, coffee finds it difficult to be 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

This Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) 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 out and remove impurities mixed in with the coffee cherries. 2. Remove the coffee pulp and outer skin. 3. Send them into a fermentation tank, where fermentation removes the pectin layer adhering to the parchment. 4. After washing clean, 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 (7.20 mm screen)

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

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

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

[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Roasting Curve]

Kilimanjaro coffee consists of large, uniformly sized coffee beans, gray-green in color, with relatively strong acidity and a sweet aroma, and excellent flavor. After a medium-light roast, it gives off sweetness and a 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.

[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Cupping Report]

Dry aroma: caramel

Wet aroma: berries

Cupping result: citrus on the entry, berries, tea-like notes

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): Tanzania Kilimanjaro

Region: Northern Highlands, Kilimanjaro volcanic area

Variety: Typica

Processing method: washed

Grade: AA

Altitude: 1300-2000m

[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brewing Parameters]

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

[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Brewing Method]

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

[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Flavor Description]

Honey, berries, tea-like notes, nuts.

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