Ethiopia has three main coffee-producing areas including Harrar, Ghimbi and Sidamo. Ethiopian coffee is known to be dry, while still maintaining a fruity acidity and a bold flavor. Harrar beans are dry processed and have been described as spicy, sometimes including notes of cinnamon, cardamom, and smoke.
Source: Espressocoffeeguide.com
Ghimbi beans are dry processed, which means the fruit covering the bean is left on for the drying of the bean. When a bean is wet processed, the fruit is removed before drying the bean. The beans have a floral aroma, some sweet flavors, but are still bold.
Source: Camposcoffee.com
Sidamo coffee is a single-origin Arabica coffee grown only in the Sidamo Province of Ethiopia. The coffee has some spicy notes and usually hints of wine with a floral aroma. You can often pick up lemon or some sort of citrus in Sidamo coffee.
Source: Camposcoffee.com
Uganda is known mostly for robusta beans, which still grow wild in the Ugandan rain forests. Robusta beans are sun dried but some farmers are beginning to wet process them. Because the beans are grown at high altitudes, they take on a flavor great for espressos.
Source: Ugandacoffeetrade.com
Uganda also grows Arabica beans, the most popular of which is called Bugisu. Bugisu is from the western slopes of Mount Elgon on the Kenyan border and is usually winy and fruit toned.
Source: Ugandacoffeetrade.com
Most Kenyan beans come from small cooperatives meaning they aren’t mass-produced, and can bet they’re slightly pricier for that reason. Purelycoffeebeans.com describes Kenyan coffee as “sweet with a dry wine aftertaste” and it’s known to have flavors of berry and spice. The coffee is generally acidic because the beans come from berry or citrus farms. Most Kenyan beans are known as bourbon, a variety of Arabica.
Source: Sweetmarias.com
Arabica beans in Tanzania are mostly grown in North Kilimanjaro, the Matengo Highlands, the Usambara Mountains and other highlands. They tend to have a full body, plenty of acidity, some sweet notes and some earthy notes because of the volcanic soils.
Source: Coffeeboard.or.tz
Tanzanian Robusta coffee is mostly grown in the Bukoba and Kagera regions, both on the shores of Lake Victoria. These beans tend to have a medium body, not too much acidity, plus some fruity and floral flavors.
Source: Coffeeboard.or.tz
Malawi produces one of the smallest coffee crops in East Africa, but if you can find some, it’s worth drinking. One of the lowest-yielding crops is called the geisha. The geisha tree is actually an Ethiopian one, but it’s Malawi that is known for harvesting great coffee from it. Geisha coffee is said to have a very clean taste, a citric acidity, some notes of chocolate and hints of tropical fruit.
Source: Stumptowncoffee.com
Bourbon is a variety of Arabica beans grown in Burundi. Espressocoffeeguide.com describes it as having a “delicate flavor with a well-balanced body and acidity.” The coffee also has some citrus flavors and some spice, with some aromas of honey and lemon blossoms.
Source: Espressocoffeeguide.com
In Rwanda, Maraba coffee is of the bourbon variety and is grown on volcanic soil. It has an “earthy” flavor, which is why the beans are sometimes used to make beer as well as coffee. An Intelligentsia café representative described the coffee as “…wonderfully sweet, either bright with clear citric characteristics, or plush and full of berry and chocolate-like flavors.”
Source: Nytimes.com
Farmers in Cameroon are known for high grade organic Arabica coffee, that has a “full body and mellow taste along with a very pleasant aroma” according to Espressocoffeeguide.com. Grown in volcanic soil, it can be rather earthy coffee. Cameroon also produces peaberry coffee–coffee that comes from a small coffee berry seed instead of the typical coffee bean. Peaberry coffee is said to be more acidic, more intense in flavor and brighter than Arabica.
Source: Espressocoffeeguide.com
