Zambia

In colonial times, Zambia was named Rhodesia in honor of the great landowner, British colonizer Cecil Rhodes. The country is located in the southern part of landlocked Africa. The country's current name comes from the name of the country's largest river, the Zambezi.

Coffee was first brought to Zambia by Catholic missionaries in the 1950s in an effort to diversify the export earnings of this African country; which until then had based its economy almost entirely on copper mining. Huge plantations were created for African conditions; where everything was organized and geared to maximize crop yields.

The first coffee seedlings came from Tanzania and Kenya, and were varieties of arabica Bourbon coffee. They planted coffee in full sun in basically the entire country. The campaign didn't work, and despite having access to the best British practices in coffee cultivation, Zambia didn't make it on the world coffee map.

It wasn't until the late 1970s when, with the help of funds from the World Bank, nearly 600 coffee plantations were established for small farmers that the idea of growing coffee in Zambia gained new energy and in 1985 Zambia exported coffee to European markets for the first time. It can be said that coffee in Zambia is only 35 years old.

Coffee growing

Coffee is mainly grown in the Muchinga Mountains, Northern Province and around the capital city of Lusaka.

The Northern Province is the area closest to the equator hence offers the best climatic conditions for cultivation. In the Northern Province, coffee is grown in the three main areas of Kasama, Isoka and Nakonde. Zambia's Northern Province borders Tanzania to the east and Congo to the north. Its area ends with Lake Tanganyika, which is the longest freshwater lake in the world (670 km long) and the deepest African lake.

The coffee harvest runs from May to August. Processing of harvested coffee is dominated by the wet (washed) method at processing points located on the plantations. Zambia also processes coffee using the dry method (pulped naturall), although this is less common. After the coffee is processed and bagged, green coffee from the Northern Province is transported to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam; coffee from southern Zambia is shipped via South Africa or Namibia. Coffee in Zambia is grown at altitudes ranging from 1,300 to 2,300 meters above sea level (Mafinga Hills).

What does coffee taste like?

Although Zambia is a country cut off from the sea, thanks to its favorable climate and distinctive conditions, it has the potential to compete with the best coffees of East Africa; Kenya or Tanzania. Flavor-wise, coffees from Zambia are dominated by citrus notes with accents of berries and melon.

What kind of coffee is grown in Zambia?

It is mainly Arabica coffee of such varieties as Catimor 129, Castillo, Java, Bourbon.