Tanzania

Lukani Losaa AA/AB

Mt. Kilimanjaro, the dormant stratovolcano, sits mightily in the north-eastern region of Tanzania. This is the highest peak in Africa, and the slopes were once alive with volcanic activity. Geological records reveal that the volcano has not erupted for nearly 2 million years. Yet, the soils here are rich thanks to the volcanic matter from the dormant volcano’s past flows. This makes the region great for agriculture, and towns such as Siha have thrived thanks to its natural abundances.

Farm Lukani Losaa AMCOS
Varietal Bourbon, Kent
Process Fully washed
Altitude 1,219 metres above sea level
Town / City Siha
Region Kilimanjaro
Owner 445 registered members
Farm Size 1.5 hectares on average

More Information

About Tanzania

Request Information

More Information

Lukani Losaa AA/AB

It was here that the Lukani Losaa Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society (AMCOS) was created under the Tanzania Cooperative Act in 1984. There are 445 active members, each growing coffee on roughly 1.5 hectares of land. These producers are located on the steep slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro along the west edges of the Kilimanjaro area. Producers will generally intercrop bananas, maize, beans, and yams with their coffee to diversify income and feed their families. The AMCOS encourages producers to rely less on agro-chemicals and more on organic fertilizers.

The Lukani Losaa Kilimanjaro Specialty Revival Project was started in 2001 to help educate producers about improving the quality of coffee in Kilimanjaro. The area is rich with healthy soil, high altitudes, and ideal temperatures – but coffee quality had been decreasing in past years due to a lack of knowledge of how to care for the trees. The project was thus initiated to ensure Kilimanjaro coffee was more traceable and to teach producers about quality. Training was held with a focus on farming methods, harvesting, and post-harvest processing. This training also included ensuring lots were labeled and more easily traceable.

About Tanzania

Kenya’s less well-known neighbour produces an astoundingly similar-tasting coffee in a somewhat similar landscape. Coffee is marketed by both an auction system organised by the Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) and direct sale.

Arabica seedlings were first introduced to the country from Réunion Island (then known as Bourbon) and planted in the Bayamoyo and Mogoro regions (fairly close to Dar Es Salaam) and were later established as a successful commercial crop in 1893 on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro by German colonizers.