Our Small Batch Series is a program of limited offerings that features hyper seasonal, highly traceable, and really tasty coffees.
Specialty coffee isn't new to Tanzania, but in recent years the industry has seen an upheaval of sorts. Changes in government regulations regarding who is allowed to purchase coffee cherry have forced producers to scramble and band together, forming Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (ACMOS) and building small central processing stations in order to protect their collective livelihood.
One such group, the Iloma AMCOS, was formed in 2018 after these changes took effect. Originally the Iyela Farmer Group, the association first formed in the Mbeya area of Southern Tanzania in 2011. In 2016, the group built a central processing station. The group's new name, Iloma, comes from the villages of where the majority of their farmers live: Illomba and Mufaumbo. The Iloma AMCOS has contributed greatly to the community, helping to provide electricity in the village as well as educational opportunities for students to learn agricultural practices.
Iloma farmers bring their cherries to the station in the afternoon for de-pulping, a process that can last through the night at peak harvest. After de-pulping, coffee is graded in washing channels before undergoing a 24-48 hour fermentation. Coffee is then washed and given a further soak overnight, then dried on raised tables for 11-14 days.
Our Small Batch Tanzania Iloma is made up of Bourbon coffee grown at approximately 1,850 meters above sea level. In the cup, we find notes of dark chocolate, green apple, raspberry, and honey.
Email sales@swisswater.com for more information about this unique coffee and for more information about upcoming offerings.