This is a very special coffee bean, one of the most surprising I've tasted this season. It's uniquely versatile compared with other African varietals, complete with a spicier flavor and a much more intense roast profile. It's unusual and satisfying, but that's no surprise - Tanzania is the world's largest producer of exceptional, bright, sun-dried coffees, and Ruvuma is acclaimed for it's flavors, which are highly reminiscent of popular Kenyan varietals.

Tanzania is probably one of the oldest-known continuously-inhabited areas on Earth. Fossil remains of humans and pre-human hominids have been found dating back over two million years. Ruvuma is the region in Tanzania named after the Ruvuma River which forms most of its Southern boundary with Mozambique. It's mountainous in the northeast where famed Mount Kilimanjaro - Africa's highest peak - erupts out from the low-lands.

The coffee in Tanzania is typically shade grown. Mixed crops of bananas and other native plants provides for ecologically sound growing practices. Crop rotation - while reducing growers' impact on the environment - also creates a more productive landscape and contributes to the flavor-complexity of this roast. This AA coffee exhibits intense flavors of bright lemon, cherry, and a floral-toned honey sweetness with a thick, syrupy body that finishes with hints of cedar and cinnamon.