Africa’s best kept secret!
- Known for the plateaus (1,000 – 1,400 m) and for its waterfalls like the Victoria Falls.
- Missionaries brought coffee from Kenya and Tanzania to Zambia in the 1950s.
- in Muchinga, in Kasama, Nakonde, Isoka and around the region Lusaka.
- Among the mild tropical conditions grows of course high quality Arabica, about 50% of Bourbon / Catimor,
- In 2020, 6,536 tons of Zambia coffee were grown. The majority of Zambian coffee is exported.
- A peculiarity are the Peaberries. Instead of usually 2 beans with the flat side facing each other, the Peaberry grows alone in a coffee cherry, which is why it is also round.
- The coffee is grown in full sun with irrigation methods and fertilization.
- The latest technologies and innovations are used, including chemical and biological pest control and coffee-pulp composting.
- The non-profit organization Zambia Agribusiness Technical Assistance Center (ZATAC GmbH) supports small farmers organizational, company-related and financially in the specialty coffee production.
- The coffee can keep up with Kenyan, is very aromatic and long lasting. The body is not so strong, but spicy and intense with fruity & floral aromas.
Zambian Coffee – Brands and Cafés
One of the best Ziambian coffee brands are Munali Coffee and Marika’s Coffee
And here you find the best cafés in Lusaka.
This contains many inaccuracies. Coffee was not brough by missionaries but by settler “gentlemen farmers” in the Mbala area before 1950. There are no Muchinga mountains, only the Muchinga Escarpment, the western side of the Luangwa valley. Lusaka is nowhere near there, but very good cofee is grown south of lusaka (munali)
Hey Christopher,
Thanks for your feedback! Looks like I have to do some more research for my Zambia coffee article. Are you living in Zambia or how do you know about it?
Best,
Daniela