THE FARM: In Tanzania, Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOS) manage 95% of the country’s coffee production. Smallholders must be registered to an AMCOS to qualify for support in production, processing, storage, transport, marketing, and government aid. Without membership, their raw coffee would have no way of reaching the global market. The Hezya AMCOS started out with just 50 smallholder coffee growers. Thanks to strong leadership that supplies agronomic inputs and small loans, the AMCOS quickly grew to its current force of 295 members across the Haraka, Hezya, and Izumbi villages in the Mbozi region.

This coffee is a peaberry selection, which happens as a mutation where one of the two seeds inside the coffee cherry dies off, leaving behind a single, round-shaped bean. They are the exception, for sure, with most shrubs producing much less than 10%. Some people think that peaberries tend to be sweeter since a single seed receives all of the nutrients.

OUR ROAST: The aroma has a smell of raspberry, with a bit of passion fruit mixed-in. The cup has a variety of flavors that come together and deliver undertones of chocolate and black currant and. The cup is gentle with tart acidity and a full, syrupy body. This fruit-driven coffee would easily work as a single-origin option on the espresso bar.

*** All prices are per pound ***