Tarime

Back with a bang for year two in our line-up, Tarime has landed! This year’s crop is bold and warming, and packed with intense sweetness.

Tarime is a small municipality near Kenya's border where producers are improving production practices and receiving higher premiums. Tarime is home to a pivotal washing station that supports the local smallholders. Typically, each producer in this region cultivates about 1-2 acres of land, interspersed with other cash crops and staples necessary for subsistence.

Between 2017 and 2019, regulatory changes wrought havoc on the local farming community, leading many to halt their operations amidst rising uncertainty. As a result, farms fell into neglect, significantly impacting both the volume and quality of coffee produced. However, 2020 marked a turning point. Recognising the region's potential and historical prowess in coffee production, efforts were intensified to rejuvenate Tarime. This initiative focused on enhancing production practices and offering higher premiums to farmers, effectively rewarding their dedication to quality. Such measures have successfully enticed many farmers back to coffee cultivation.

In Tarime, natural processing is the norm. Once the cherries are processed at the local wet mill, they are transported to Moshi where they undergo meticulous hulling, sorting, grading, and packing. This particular lot of coffee has been harvested by hand, and sorted before making their way to the flotation tanks. Floaters are removed (the less dense, imperfect cherries), and the remaining cherries are left to ferment for 12-16 hours. The cherries are then dried on raised beds for 4-5 weeks, regularly being raked and turned to ensure even drying.