Tanzania Kilimanjaro AA

Kilimanjaro Plantation

Arabica Bourbon coffee, from the island of Reunion, which is still one of the favourite varietals at Mount Kilimanjaro, was introduced to the region by missionaries around 1890. Originally cultivated only on plantations, coffee was soon adopted by the business-minded Chagas tribe and remains a main component of the "shamba" (cultivated garden) of every smallholder farmer in the region.

Kilimanjaro Plantation has been growing and producing coffee since 1955 on the southern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Moshi-Kibosho, Mweka, Tanzania. It was one of the first single-origin large-scale coffee producers in Tanzania. The plantation has a total area of 663 hectares, making it one of the largest plantations in Northern Tanzania. They have planted and grown over 1 million coffee trees on 565 hectares of land, preserving the remaining land as natural forest.

The Plantation has planted more than 10,000 indigenous shade trees, such as Cordia Africana (Mringamringa), Albizia Schimperiana (Mruka), and Croton Silvacus (Mfuru), across the plantation and in the community to help stabilise the microclimate and combat deforestation in the region. These shade trees are also instrumental in cultivating coffee as they protect the soil and plants from the impact of the torrid East African sun.

The entire farm is equipped with a drip irrigation system, which provides constant water and nutrient uptake for every coffee tree year-round. This ensures the coffee cherries can develop and ripen without disturbance. Drip-line irrigation reduces water consumption by 60%. The Plantation has its own team of Q Graders and a fully equipped cupping room in use daily for plantation staff and visitors.