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Zambia Isanya Estate AAA/AA Fully Washed (2022)
On Sale
| Bag Weight | 60 KG BAG |
|---|---|
| Harvest Season | 2021/22 |
| Status | Spot |
| Lot Number | P8001473-1 |
About This Coffee
The Region
Long before Dr. Livingston arrived to name Victoria Falls after the queen, the people who had lived around this wonder of the natural world for generations had already named it more appropriately, “the smoke that thunders.” The falls thunder into the Zambesi River, which flows east toward Mozambique. But before the river crosses the border, take a left and head north up the Luangwa River. You’ll move through land rich in biodiversity, including the world’s largest concentration of hippos. As the river meanders and the altitude rises you will eventually arrive at the source of the Luangwa, 1500 meters up the Mafinga plateau, which is also, as it happens, the home of Olam’s 5 coffee estates.
The Northern Province of Zambia shares its borders with Tanzania to the East and D.R. Congo to the North. It also occupies the southern shore of Lake Tanganyika - the world’s longest fresh-water lake, the largest in Africa by volume and also its deepest. The Northern Province has the best conditions for arabica coffee cultivation in Zambia with its relative proximity to the equator and abundant altitude (Mafinga Hills being the highest point in the country at 2,300 masl).
The local economy is dominated by agriculture with coffee being the primary commercial crop, alongside subsistence crops such as maize, millet, groundnuts and beans. The mountainous terrain and lack of transport infrastructure makes this region challenging to work in, but also one most in need of the investment and development which the coffee industry can bring.
The Process
Our Fully Washed coffees are produced using ECOPULPERS and fermentation tanks based on each estate. All five estates benefit from an abundance of clean water on site, and a fermentation process which takes between 16 - 24 hours depending on the climate at the time. The drying takes place across estates using a combination of raised drying tables, patios and hot air beds. We ensure the coffee harvest reaches the pulping station within 6 hours of hand picking. Coffees are then sorted by size and weight and kept in a cool environment, allowing them to settle prior to export.
History of Coffee in Zambia
Coffee was first planted in Zambia in 1978, on what is now Olam’s Ngoli Estate. Overseen by a very energetic, active and supportive ZCGA (Zambia Coffee Growers’ Association), there was a rapid expansion in planting in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s with national production reaching just short of 7,000mt.
Then the global coffee price crisis of 1998 to 2004 hit, and hard. Most of the estates required significant investment and infrastructure, including the installation of irrigation systems which could not be made. Low prices forced most estates to switch to other crops. However, since Olam acquired the northern estates in 2012, significant investment has led to a rejuvenation of the Zambian coffee sector. Our coffee estate company NCCL is now the largest coffee producer in the country and the largest single employer in Zambia.
- Subregion Northern Province
- Farm Name Isanya Estate
- Producer Type Single Estate
- Processing Washed
- Bag Types Grain Pro / Ecotact
- Plant Species Arabica
- Variety Catimor 129
- Min Growing Altitude 1650m
- Screen Size 18 Up
- On Sale Yes
- Top Lot No
- Price Per Kg €6.50
- Status Spot
- Coffee Grade ZMB CA FW AA
- CTRM Contract Number P8001473-1
- Origin Zambia
- Warehouse Vollers Hamburg