Tanzania

Tanzania grows washed arabica on Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru and the southern highlands around Mbeya and Ruvuma, and natural robusta around Bukoba near Lake Victoria. About 90 percent of coffee comes from smallholders and roughly three-quarters is arabica. Coffee is sold through the Tanzania Coffee Board's auction or by direct sale.

ArabicaRobusta / Conilon Harvesting in November

Production 2026/27
1.60Mbags96k t · USDA PSD
Exports 2026/27
1.41Mbags88% of the harvest
Arabica share
53%
World rank
14of 400.8% of origin output
Area harvested 2024
326khaFAOSTAT
Altitude
not published

Production and exports

60 kg bags · USDA PSD market years
0500k1000k1500k2000k201020122014201620182020202220242026Production1600kExports1410kDomestic use90k
0500k1000k1500k2000k’10’20Production1600kExports1410kDomestic use90k

Market years 2010/11 to 2026/27; the last year is USDA's current estimate. Domestic use is PSD's domestic consumption line.

Area harvested, hectares · FAOSTAT

100k150k200k250k300k350k’10’15’20Area326k

FAOSTAT crops and livestock products, item green coffee (CC BY 4.0). Values flagged as estimates by FAO are included as published.

Where the coffee goes

Supply and use
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Production, Supply and Distribution (PSD), market years. Supply on the left equals use on the right.
Stocks carried in51k
Production1.60M
Imports6,000
Exports1.41M
Domestic use90k
Stocks carried out157k
Share of the harvest exported88%
Rank among producing origins by exports14 of 37

Where the exports go is not published here. Shipments by destination, including US imports from Tanzania, come from USITC DataWeb and the Census trade API, which need credentials we do not hold yet.

Harvest

Harvest calendar for every origin
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

Main cropTypical US arrival

Sources disagree: South (Mbeya, Ruvuma) main crop

  • North (Kilimanjaro, Arusha) · main cropJul–Nov · US Jan–Mar

    Northern Tanzania: Cafe Imports July-November, Mercanta (citing ICO) July-December; arrivals January-April (Cafe Imports) or late December-February (Mercanta).

  • South (Mbeya, Ruvuma) · main cropJul–Sep · US Jan–Mar
    Sources disagree

    Southern Tanzania: Cafe Imports May-September, Mercanta July-December; overlap shown.

Growing regions

8 regions

Varieties, processing and grading

Main varieties

BourbonKentN39Blue MountainTypicaRobusta (cultivated Coffea canephora, Congolese SG2 group)

Common processing

Washed (wet, fully washed)Natural (dry process)

Export grading

Tanzania Coffee Board grades (British nomenclature)

ICO certifying agent: Tanzania Coffee Board

Character and protected names

Flavour tendencies

Tanzanian arabicas resemble Kenyan coffees in brightness but are generally softer, and Western buyers see many peaberry lots because Japanese buyers favour the flat-bean grades.

General tendencies from importer origin notes, not a promise about any lot. The claims behind them are listed with their sources at the foot of the page.

Geographical indications and protected names

None recorded for Tanzania.