Seven steps. Every lot. No exceptions.
Our sourcing begins long before harvest season. We maintain year-round relationships with smallholder farmers, cooperatives, and washing station managers across Tanzania's key growing regions — Kilimanjaro, Songwe–Mbozi, Mbinga, and beyond.
We select partners based on farming practices (shade-grown cultivation, selective cherry picking), processing infrastructure quality, and their commitment to consistent lot separation. We visit farms annually to assess conditions first-hand and maintain dialogue throughout the growing season.
Working directly with washing stations eliminates 2–3 intermediary layers typical in commodity coffee — meaning better prices for farmers and full traceability for you.
Only ripe, red cherries are accepted. Our partner farms practice selective hand-picking — pickers return to the same tree multiple times as cherries reach peak ripeness, rather than strip-picking entire branches. This is more labour-intensive but produces dramatically better cup quality and consistency. Cherry quality is inspected at intake at the washing station, where underripe, overripe, and damaged cherries are floated out before processing begins.
Depending on origin and desired cup profile, lots are processed using one of three methods:
De-pulped, fermented 24–72h, dried on raised beds. Clean, bright, terroir-expressive. Dominant method in Kilimanjaro.
Whole cherries dried 3–6 weeks. Full-bodied, fruit-forward. Used for select Mbinga and Songwe lots.
Skin removed, mucilage retained during drying. Balanced sweetness, moderate complexity.
After drying, parchment coffee is milled, sorted by screen size (AA, A, B, PB), and cleaned using density tables and colour sorters. We specify specialty-grade sorting standards: maximum 5 full defects per 300g sample. Lot separation is maintained throughout — each lot is kept in separate bags, tracked by lot number from this point forward.
This is the most critical step — and what differentiates Kilimanjaro Beans from most importers. Our certified Q-Grader in Tanzania cups every lot using SCA protocol before any export decision is made. Cupping takes place at 93°C, with a standardised coffee-to-water ratio, across at least 5 cups per lot.
Attributes scored: fragrance/aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, uniformity, clean cup, sweetness, and overall impression.
Only lots scoring 84 or above proceed to export. Full cupping sheets — including every attribute score and tasting notes — are available to buyers for every approved lot.
Approved green coffee is packed in grain-pro inner liner bags inside 60kg jute or woven polypropylene outer bags — standard for specialty export. We handle all export logistics: phytosanitary certificate, certificate of origin, bill of lading, packing list, and commercial invoice. FCL or LCL shipping available to ports worldwide.
We arrange door-to-door delivery worldwide. Typical transit times: 4–6 weeks to Europe, 6–8 weeks to the Americas. Full tracking at each logistics stage, with all customs documentation included.
For first-time importers, we walk you through every step — from sample approval to customs clearance.