Tanzania Coffee

The Tarakea Cooperative is situated 105km North East of Moshi Town, Rombo District, in the Kilimanjaro Region. It was started in 1983 with the aim of assisting small scale farmers from eight villages on the eastern slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro to produce and market their coffee.

Farmers in Tarakea home process their coffee, making sure that only red, ripe cherries are handpicked from the trees and pulped the same day. The coffee is fermented for 18 – 24 hours and then washed and dried on homemade drying tables. The parchment coffee is then delivered to the Cooperative for storage and dry milling.

Bean There began purchasing coffee from Tarakea in 2018 and the Direct Fair Trade premiums from our first few shipments are earmarked for a new cooperative-owned washing station which would be a significant advancement in the processing of the coffee.

The Tarakea Cooperative is a pillar in the local community offering its 2850 members access to farm inputs, subsidized medical cover, and pre-finance for their coffee. Bean There is privileged to work with this exceptional farmer group which is offering significant value for farmers in the Kilimanjaro Region.