Tanzania Mbozi Kanji Lalji Farm

Cupping Notes:

Malty-sweet notes and a nice acidic backbone leave a lasting impression in the cup. Unrefined sugars, caramelized sweetness, lemon-lime, honey, golden date, and cedar.

Region: Vwawa, Igamba, Mbozi
Variety: Bourbon
Altitude: 1600+ masl
Processing: Wet Process (Washed)
Certification: Farm Gate

Farm Description:

Why it's not a go-to East African coffee is a complicated question, but it just doesn't grab the same level of attention as neighboring Kenya, (or Burundi and Rwanda for that matter), and it should! Tanzanian coffee can fruited, bright, and just as complex as those in surrounding countries. The coffees of Kanji Lalji are a good example of this. Kanji Lalji is a larger farm owned by a family of the same name, located near Vwawa town in the Igamba district. While our other Tanzania coffees come from smallholders that form cooperative groups, Kanji Lalji is in a different position. The farm has an experienced agronomist, Eliot Swila (photo holding the baby coffee plant), who oversees their unique grafting method to bind the variety called Nylon locally (N39a, a Bourbon type) to drought-resistant Mbozi Compact roots. It's not high-tech in any way, but its beyond the means of the small-holder farmer. And in fact Kanji Lalji does this in a test plot for the government that will ultimately be shared with all farmers if it proves viable to face the seasonal lack of water in the area. All of that is a bit of a fascinating footnote: the lots we selected from Kanji Lalji are from their oldest trees, which are the original Mbozi Mission Bourbon variety. The farm has been managed for decades by Willy, a real character; a 79 year old Swiss expat, sparing in words, but clearly a man with a depth of coffee farming experience that shows in everything he does at Kanji Lalji farm.

Description from Coffee Shrub.