Finagro Edelweiiss Farm

Visiting the Finagro Edelweiss farm in Karatu, Tanzania, we witnessed a master class in coffee management under the direction of Neel Vohora and the prominent agronomist Hugh Johansen.

I think that it would be sensible for producers worldwide to see Finagro Edelweiss as a farm to watch out for and incorporate its excellent practices into their own farms.

The knowledge they have at the Finagro Edelweiss farm is vast; they know what they are doing and why they do it that way. And all that is transferred to the cup.

We were able to taste various coffees during the cupping. There were some clean coffees with well-defined character. I found the Kent varieties to be particularly outstanding.

Neel’s explanations about the different processes on the farm were a testament to many years of experience.

I would also like to highlight the presence of Hueg Johanssen, an elderly agronomist with great expertise. Despite his mobility issues, he had the enormous strength of will to accompany us throughout the tour.

Thank you Hueg, for being an example of self-improvement and for your generosity in sharing with us your knowledge of coffee.

I know that not only have you played an important role in making Finagro Edelweiss what it is today, but you will also be a crucial person in making the farm what it will become in the coming years.

Speaking of the coming years, Hueg pointed out two major challenges:

1. The optimization of water consumption in the processes.

2. To shift all coffee production to specialty coffee.

I would like to highlight the good practices of this farm that have an impact on the quality of the cup:

The trees are planted with a minimum of three meters between each other; They don’t cut down over 90-year-old trees, because they are aware of the value of the fruits produced by these old trees.

The varieties they work with are Bourbon, Kent, Batian, Geisha, Pacamara, Ruiru 11, SL28, K7, and KP423.

Finally, I’d like to share Neel Vohora’s suggestion for when we evaluate a cup:

Before judging a coffee by the appearance of the green beans, let’s taste it in the cup.

Acacia Hills Coffee Estate

I can’t help but associate everything that revolves around this farm with divinity.

Its farm staff, natural surroundings and the coffees they produce are more like those of paradise than of the earthly world.

Leon, its owner, is an inspiration, beauty and honorable host.

And for me, it is precisely two of these qualities that produced his coffees: inspiration and beauty.

Cupping sessions of his coffees have been first class.

About the cuppings. When each session began, Lab members would step aside and let the coffees speak, waiting for the perfect moment.

And they did speak.

Their coffees are the highest quality, which was unequivocally evident in the taste of their coffees.

Their coffees are genuine, consistent and have extraordinary subtlety, showing us the essence of purity.

Now, how does Acacia Hills manage to produce coffees with these characteristics?

I could understand it after I got to know Leon and traveled with him and his team to see their coffee farms and post-harvest systems.

Finca Mondul / Burka Coffee Estates

The first stop on this trip far exceeded my expectations.

Upon arriving at Burka Coffee, we entered the lab to find their quality control team. There were 11 different blend coffees, each made with a different fermentation method, ready for cupping.

A cycle of silence and action ensued. The show had started.

Professional work and solid roasting – these two factors allow us to discover a new coffee.

Gentle, pleasant, and robust flavor. The farmers must have consistently pursued what their coffee is supposed to represent, and the result is reflected in the cup

Where do these coffees come from?

A few minutes’ drive away, there is Mondul Coffee Estates, home to an all-round production system with a full range of functions comparable to a Swiss army knife.

In the same premises, there is a pesticide and organic compost treatment facility, a nursery, planting, wet and dry mills, a drying area, and a storage, each with plenty of space.

All of it is effective, useful and meaningful.

On top of that, everything is in its place in a precise, rigid order.

The open space is large enough. This ensures efficient operation, and things are spaced out with enough room between each other.

But having hardware alone isn’t enough. Here, they have the experience and knowledge of the workers, too.

This is also evident in the optimal use of resources and the effective use of waste from coffee.

In conclusion, their coffee is elegant.

We got an early start.

We headed to Burka Coffee State. On the cupping table, there were 11 kinds of coffee grown on the Mondul Coffee farm.

Everyone working at Burka Coffee showed great professionalism. We never stopped talking about coffee.

And coffee, too, started talking to us!

There was a panel that explained the 11 coffees, each made with a different production method or fermentation.

All the staff members at Burka Coffee know what they are doing and why they do it the way they do, without a shred of doubt.

And at the cafe, they serve coffee with utmost confidence.

Next, we visited a Burka Coffee farm in Mondul Coffee.

I’ve never seen a farm like it.

There was a plantation, a wet mill, a dry mill, all in the same place.

In short, this is an integral coffee production center, where complete traceability of the product is guaranteed.

And of course, the staff of Mondul Coffee gave us a complete guided tour of the entire infrastructure, explaining in detail each of the processes from the seed to the preparation of the coffee for sale.

And since it is the harvest season, we were lucky enough to meet the pickers, men and women who kindly and patiently accepted our requests to take pictures and videos.

From there we set off for Acacia Hills.

After about 5 hours of road trip and with the expertise of the driver, we reached our destination.

Leon is our host, and he gave us a warm welcome.

His estate and its surrounding areas are blessed with the beautiful bounty of nature.

The only thing that can come out of such a beautiful environment is an excellent coffee.

Tanzania became my first ever contact with Africa today.

Enigmatic and distant. That was my impression of this continent.

The first sensation I got when I set foot on Tanzanian soil was olfactory. The absence of pollution revealed a whiff of verbena — pure revelry for my senses.

At the airport, Shin from TYPICA was waiting for me and other members of the TYPICA Lab tour. Shin will be leading a cross-cultural group of roasters from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, Romania and Spain.

From that first second we got together, I felt as if we had been living together for a long time.

On the first day, Taiwanese roasters spontaneously organized a cupping of coffees, using the beans they had roasted. Thanks to that, we got to familiarize ourselves with each other.

And there was a surprise! The Taiwanese roasters introduced us to coffees grown in Taiwan.

I wasn’t familiar with Taiwanese coffee at all, so it gave me a new coffee scheme.

We also planned some activities we are going to do during this TYPICA Lab tour.