We visited a small scale coffee producer George Ndege. He has been growing a native variety called Compact, which is unique in the region. He had some success and started selling his nursery plants to his neighbours with a very low price, aiming to encourage his farming fellows to start growing specialty coffee and to support their livelihood. His sense of community was very inspiring.

That made me think, what can I do to my fellow roasters, and the coffee industry?

It was an honour cupping some delicious coffees from Acacia Hills at their lab. The hard work of the Quality Control team definitely was reflected in the cup quality.

After the cupping, we had a walk around Acacia Hills. Leon explained to us the different coffee tree varieties and how they maintained the coffee trees.

In the afternoon cupping session, roasters shared their thoughts of how they find the use of different quality / flavour profile coffees. We realised most of us shared the same thoughts.

The bonding of the roasters and producer is fascinating. Even with such a short time that we’ve met and spent time with, we are developing a wonderful friendship.

We started with a cupping in the Burka Farm with producer Macha. He is a coffee professional with 23 years experience. We had our first cupping of the trip with some beautiful coffees. 

We then visited his farm and wet mill at Mondul Coffee Estate. It was impressive to see how much work him and his team had put in to ensure the best quality. I could feel the love and care for the coffees from every single person at the farm, including coffee pickers, processers, packers and the producer. Us roasters connected with them instantly with smile on our faces. 

Late afternoon, we arrived at Acacia Hills Coffee Estate, home to the producer Mr. Leon Christianakis, where we’d be staying for 3 nights. It’s a lovely place with stunning view. We are all very happy to be here. Sunset in Acacia Hills with a drink around the fire, with these wonderful people, what more you could ask for for the first evening at the farm. 

When we gathered at the dinner table to share our thoughts about the day. It’s heartwarming to find so many of us shared the same feeling of instant connections between coffee people, in every position along the coffee chain. 

I’m so grateful to be here at Tanzania. Can’t wait to see more in the next few days.