TECHNICAL DETAILS
Origin: Tanzania, Oldeani region, Karatu (exactly here)
Process: Honey
Altitude: 1,750-1850 masl
Varietal: Kent
Producer: Leon Christianakis
Harvest: 2022
Taste notes: roses, green te, cocoa powder
WHY DO WE LIKE IT?
Tembo Tembo is a floral coffee with a balanced acidity. The predominant note is a rose flavour. The texture in the mouth is similar to green tea and cocoa, which also gives it a taste that lingers after the last sip. We love it in a filter, but it also goes very well with milk.
RECIPE
For filter:
We use 20 grams of ground coffee and 320 grams of final water at 93C. We make three pours. The first one of 50 grams, we wait 30 seconds and we make two pours of 135 grams in a total time of 3 and a half minutes.
Variables to be taken into account:
1. METHOD: V60
2. GRINDER: EK43
3. WATER: 70 ppm
STORY BEHIND THIS COFFEE
Although Leon is now involved in coffee production, in the past he was a pharmacist in the UK. As a young man, he never thought he would take over the family business.
Leon decided to move to Tanzania when he and his wife Eileen, who also worked in the same pharmaceutical field, started thinking about starting a family. "At 20 years old, if I had said to her: 'Shall we move to the moon? She would have said, 'Yes, no problem'. Because we were young marrieds, anything was possible. On returning to Tanzania, Leon says, "It was a lovely place to raise children. We had our extended family, my father, my mother, my sisters, brothers... everybody is here, so we have a big network, and we all support each other".
The whole Oldeani region can change with the presence of a man capable of implementing business ideas in which the people involved in coffee production are happy, and the people around them as well.
"I think if our model could be replicated by other farms, or other cooperatives, or things of that nature, it would help the Tanzanian coffee industry, which could ultimately help the people involved in the coffee industry."
For the specialty coffee sector, where sustainability is the most difficult issue, Leon's practice will be a valuable teaching tool.
VARIETY AND PROCESS
The Kent variety was discovered in India. This variety is very resistant to pests such as rust, and produces a smooth and balanced cup of coffee.
The cherries are initially selected in the field and transported to the washing station. At the washing station, the cherries are pulped using a minimum amount of water. Excess water is drained using a small table before the cherries are transferred to raised beds. Parchment is spread in a thin layer until the cherries reach 15 % moisture content, and then left to dry in a thick layer (about 5 cm) which is turned frequently. The total drying time is approximately 16 to 19 days.
