About This Coffee
Shiwanda Estate was originally founded by colonial settlers. It was nationalized in the 1970s and run by a para-state organization for the benefit national economy for about 20 years. Unfortunately, the farm did not see a profit during these years. The government reclaimed direct control over the farm in 1998 and auctioned it off to a private buyer. The farm was purchased by Apson Mwang’onda, who spent the past 30 years turning the estate into a verdant and successful business. Mr. Mwang’onda recently died and the farm is now operated by his son, Jimmy Mwang'onda.
In addition to coffee, the farm also features a beautiful sculpture garden that celebrates the native wildlife of Tanzania.
Cultivation
In order to protect the land, Shiwanda uses mainly organic compost and manure to fertilize the soil. The farm has drip irrigation to reduce overall water usage while delivering plenty of water to each tree. Trees have been renovated regularly to ensure the best yields and quality.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Coffee is selectively handpicked by a team of laborers, many of whom return to the farm year and year. At the station’s wet mill, cherry is visually inspected and pulped within 8 hours of harvest. Cherry is pulped on the farm’s McKinnon 2500 UCBE pulper, which also grades by density. The separate grades are placed in fermentation tanks for 36 to 48 hours.
Following fermentation, parchment is washed in clean water and placed on drying tables. Parchment is raked frequently to ensure even drying and covered with shade nets during the hottest parts of the day. It takes approximately 10 to 13 days for parchment to dry.
AB
Coffee in Tanzania is graded according to size. AB beans are those that are between 15 and 18 meaning that beans are between 6 and 7 millimeters in size.
Coffee in Tanzania
Coffee’s roots in Tanzania can be traced via oral history back to the Haya tribe of Northwest Tanzania in the 16th century. Following German and then British colonial rule, the Tanzanian coffee industry has undergone many transformations and adjustments in an effort to create the most equal, profitable and high-quality coffee possible. Today, our in-country partner, Sucafina Tanzania, is invested in improving the coffee and the lives of smallholder farmers through a variety of initiatives.
Coffee in Tanzania was grown almost exclusively in the North for a long time. The Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Tarime, Kagera, Kigoma and Karatu/Ngorongoro regions were prized for their ideal Arabica growing conditions. At the time, coffee production was so concentrated in the north that Moshi, a northern municipality, was the only hub for all coffee milling and sales.
Operations in Moshi grew to truly massive proportions in the 1950s and early-1960s. Since both Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi were under British rule in the post-war decades, Moshi was the second milling and sales hub (after Nairobi, Kenya) for British coffee production.
Coffee cultivation has extended southwards in recent years. In addition to the historical powerhouse regions in the north, coffee is now also grown in the southern regions of Ruvuma and Mbeya/Mbozi. Most Southern expansion of coffee growing occurred in the 1970s and 1980s and was encouraged by two projects supported by European backers. In an ironic twist, today 75 to 85% of total coffee production in Tanzania today comes from farms in the south.