Growing coffee in Tanzania
Where is coffee grown in Tanzania?
In three areas. Arabica grows in the northern highlands around Kilimanjaro and Arusha and in the southern highlands of Ruvuma, Songwe and Mbeya, which now grow most of it; robusta grows almost entirely in Kagera, by Lake Victoria. Tanzania grows about 1.45–1.6 million 60 kg bags a year, roughly half of each species, and about half of it goes to the European Union.
At a glance
2026- Production
- 1.6m bags
- 2026/27 forecast, 60 kg bags
- World rank
- No. 14
- 0.8% of world output
- Species
- Arabica (about 52%) and robusta (about 48%), USDA 2025/26
- Harvest
- North and south July–December; west May–October (Tanzania Coffee Board)
- Area under coffee
- 270,000 ha planted, 2025/26 (USDA)
- Growers
- About 320,000 smallholders; about 100 large estates (USDA)
- Exports
- US$413m in 2025/26 (Tanzania Coffee Board)
- Main varieties
- Bourbon types, Clonal robusta
Production: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Coffee: World Markets and Trade (July 2026). Other figures describe 2026 and come from the sources at the end of this page. Updated once a year.
Growing regions
All origins- Arusha (Karatu and Mount Meru)1,600–1,850 m at Edelweiss, Oldeani (Royal Coffee)Coffee from Arusha, northern Tanzania: estates around Karatu and Oldeani on the Ngorongoro highlands and Mount Meru, with red currant, chocolate and citrus.
- KageraCoffee from Kagera, Tanzania: the robusta region by Lake Victoria, around Bukoba and Karagwe, home of the Haya people’s chewed amwani coffee.
- KilimanjaroCoffee from Kilimanjaro, Tanzania: washed arabica from the slopes of Kilimanjaro and Meru, home of Africa’s oldest coffee cooperative and the Moshi auction.
- Mara (Tarime)1,600–1,800 m (Wood St Coffee); 1,750 m (Olam, via Covoya); up to 2,000 m (Highwire)Coffee from Tarime in Tanzania’s Mara region, near the Kenyan border: smallholder Kent, N39 and Bourbon at about 1,600–1,800 m, scoring 94–95.
- Mbeya and Songwe1,500 m at TaCRI's Mbimba station, MboziCoffee from Mbeya and Songwe, Tanzania: washed arabica from the southern highlands around Mbozi, at about 1,500 m, Tanzania’s second arabica region.
- Mbinga (Ruvuma)Coffee from Mbinga, Ruvuma, Tanzania: washed arabica from the far south-west, near Lake Nyasa, about a quarter of Tanzania’s arabica, softer and more floral.
Tanzania grows coffee in three corners. Washed arabica comes from the slopes of Kilimanjaro and Meru in the north and from the southern highlands of Ruvuma, Songwe and Mbeya; robusta comes from Kagera, by Lake Victoria, where the Haya people traditionally chewed coffee rather than brewing it. Coffee is the country’s leading cash crop, grown by more than 40% of its farmers. Here’s how much, where, when and where it goes.
The short version
- About 1.45–1.6 million bags a year; roughly half arabica, half robusta.
- Robusta from Kagera; arabica from the north and the southern highlands.
- Ruvuma and Songwe now grow 77.4% of the arabica.
- Almost all smallholders: about 320,000 of them, on farms of about 0.63 ha.
- Peaberry: the grade Tanzania is best known for.
- Half the exports go to the EU; US purchases have doubled since 2022.
How much coffee does Tanzania grow?
About 1.5 million bags, USDA says, for a coffee year from July to June:
| Coffee year | Arabica | Robusta | Total | Bean exports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 700,000 | 650,000 | 1.35 million | 1.25 million |
| 2025/26 (estimate) | 750,000 | 700,000 | 1.45 million | 1.36 million |
| 2026/27 (forecast) | 850,000 | 750,000 | 1.6 million | 1.4 million |
Source: USDA, May 2026. 60 kg bags.
USDA expects a 10.3% rise in 2026/27 as farms rehabilitated between 2019 and 2024 reach full bearing. Tanzania’s own figures, and the others, don’t always agree:
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Production, 2025/26 | 76.47 million kg (about 1.27 million bags, by our calculation) | Tanzania Coffee Board |
| Production, 2024/25 | 50.53 million kg | Tanzania Coffee Board |
| Arabica share | About 52% | USDA, 2025/26 |
| Arabica share | About 70% | The Guardian (Tanzania), 2026 |
| Export earnings | US$413 million, 2025/26 | Tanzania Coffee Board |
| Export earnings | US$389 million, year to March 2026 | The Guardian (Tanzania) |
The agriculture ministry targets 85,000 tonnes for 2026/27.
Where is coffee grown in Tanzania?
In three zones, USDA says: arabica in the northern and southern highlands and robusta almost entirely in Kagera, near Lake Victoria. The coffee board’s regional figures for 2020/21, the latest published by region:
| Region | Coffee, 2020/21 | Mainly |
|---|---|---|
| Kagera | 41,429 t | Robusta |
| Ruvuma (Mbinga) | 12,179 t | Arabica |
| Songwe | 12,178 t | Arabica |
| Mbeya | 2,361 t | Arabica |
| Arusha | 1,727 t | Arabica |
| Kilimanjaro | 1,610 t | Arabica |
| Kigoma | 706 t | Arabica and robusta |
Source: Tanzania Coffee Board, via Food Business MEA.
Today Ruvuma and Songwe grow 77.4% of the arabica, the coffee board says, and robusta is spreading in Kagera and Kigoma, where farmers are clearing new land with subsidised seedlings. The country has about 270,000 hectares of coffee.
The coffee
Most fine Tanzanian arabica comes from Bourbon-related varieties, and it is almost always washed, often Kenya-style, with a second soak and drying on raised tables, Coffee Review says. It describes the cup as “similar to the typical best Kenya cup, though usually less intense and arguably more balanced”, and “almost always sweetly tart”. Coffee is graded by size, as in Kenya: AA, A, AB and PB, the peaberry grade, with which Tanzania became particularly identified.
When is coffee harvested in Tanzania?
By zone, the Tanzania Coffee Board’s calendar runs from July to December in the north and south and from May to October in the west. Auctions open zone by zone as each harvest comes in:
| Auction zone | Regions | Opens (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Kigoma | Kigoma, Katavi | 30 April |
| Mara | Mara (Tarime), Mwanza | 30 April |
| Kagera | Kagera | 1 May |
| Mbeya, Songwe | Mbeya, Songwe | 15 June |
| Ruvuma | Ruvuma, Iringa, Njombe | 1 July |
| Northern | Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Manyara, Morogoro, Tanga | 1 July |
Source: Tanzania Coffee Board, via USDA.
Who grows Tanzanian coffee?
Smallholders. About 320,000 small farmers grow 90% of the crop, USDA says, alongside about 100 estates, which contribute under 10% of output. A typical smallholding has about 0.63 hectares and 400–2,000 trees. In the south, coffee grows as a pure stand; in the north and west it is intercropped with bananas. Fertiliser use is low, about 50 kg a hectare; about 40% of farmers in the north and south use inorganic fertiliser, against about 2% in the west.
Where does Tanzanian coffee go?
| Destination | Green coffee, 2025 (bags) |
|---|---|
| European Union | 596,487 (50%) |
| Japan | 193,718 |
| United States | 128,032 |
| Morocco | 69,192 |
| India | 30,594 |
| South Africa | 26,470 |
Source: Trade Data Monitor, via USDA. Total 1,185,714 bags.
The United States has more than doubled its purchases since 2022, from 58,841 bags. About 92% of the 2025/26 crop was sold by direct export, the rest through the coffee board’s auctions. Tanzania also makes soluble coffee, mainly in Bukoba, but its exports collapsed from 10,858 bags in 2022 to 814 in 2025.
A short history
- Before colonial rule: the Haya of Kagera boiled and steamed robusta with herbs and chewed it, as amwani, Wikipedia says.
- 1911: German colonists order arabica planted around Bukoba.
- 1925: the Chagga on Kilimanjaro, who had taken up coffee, form the Kilimanjaro Native Planters’ Association, Wikipedia says. The Kilimanjaro Native Co-operative Union, which Coffee Review calls Africa’s earliest cooperative, dates from 1924 by Coffee Review’s account and 1930 by Wikipedia’s.
- 1976–77: the government abolishes the cooperative unions and takes over coffee marketing.
- Early 1990s: liberalisation; private buyers compete with the cooperatives.
- 1997: coffee wilt disease appears.
- 2025/26: export earnings of about US$413 million.
How do Tanzanians drink their coffee?
Increasingly, in cafés. Tanzania drinks about 85,000 bags a year, USDA says, mostly in Dar es Salaam and Arusha, where younger professionals and tourists drive demand.
Tanzanian coffee and other origins
- Coffee in Uganda: Kagera’s neighbour across the border, and Africa’s other robusta giant.
- Coffee in Ethiopia: where arabica began.
- The atlas: Tanzania’s growing areas on the map.