Mara (Tarime)

Tarime is Tanzania’s coffee corner by the Kenyan border, a district of the Mara region in the northern highlands above Lake Victoria. Its smallholders grow Bourbon, Kent and N39, and although Mara is a small producer, Tarime coffees have scored 94 and 95 with Coffee Review.

The short version

• Mara region, near the Kenyan border and above Lake Victoria.
• About 1,600–1,800 metres, on smallholdings of under 2 hectares.
• 94–95 points with Coffee Review: honey, black cherry, mango, jasmine.
• Kent, N39 and Bourbon.
• About 2,000 tonnes a year in Mara (2018).

What does Tarime coffee taste like?

Sweet, bright and layered. Coffee Review’s blind assessments of washed Tarime coffees:

Year	Coffee	Score	Notes
2018	Tarime (JBC Coffee Roasters)	95	Wild honey, black cherry, lemon verbena, hazelnut, rhododendron-like flowers; sweetly tart, juicy
2018	Tarime (Lexington Coffee Roasters)	95	Dried mango, fresh cigar, lemon verbena, pink grapefruit zest, wisteria; crisp yet syrupy
2019	Tarime AB	94	Jasmine, toffee, peach, cedar, tamarind; juicy, vibrant acidity

Source: Coffee Review. The 2018 Lexington coffee was No. 4 on Coffee Review’s list of the top 30 coffees of 2018; the JBC coffee was the top-rated in its June 2018 report on coffees from Africa’s Great Lakes region. Both were grown by smallholders from Bourbon and Kent; the 2019 lot was N39 and KP423. One UK roaster lists a Tarime lot with pineapple, raspberry and dark chocolate.

Where and how is it grown?

Measure	Detail	Source
Altitude	1,750 m	Olam, via Covoya
Altitude	1,600–1,800 m	Wood St Coffee
Altitude	Up to 2,000 m	Highwire Coffee Roasters
Farm size	Often under 2 ha	Olam, via Covoya
Farm size	0.5–3 ha	Highwire Coffee Roasters
Harvest	June to October	Wood St Coffee

Tarime lies north-west of the Serengeti and south of the Kenyan border, Highwire says, and Tarime district leads Mara’s arabica, thanks to its fertile land and suitable climate, Comunicaffe reported. Natural processing is common, but smallholders near Tarime can also sell cherry to a washing station; the washed coffee then travels to Moshi for hulling, sorting, grading and packing, Wood St Coffee says. Mara has its own auction zone, with Mwanza, which opened on 30 April in 2026, among the first in the country, USDA reports.

How much coffee does Mara grow?

Little. In 2018 the regional commissioner said Mara produced about 2,000 tonnes a year and urged farmers to aim for 10,000, as they agreed to sell through primary co-operative societies and the Wakulima Mara Cooperative Union, Comunicaffe reported. In 2024, Tarime farmers led by their MP visited Muleba in Kagera to learn coffee husbandry, the Daily News reported.

Mara and other Tanzanian origins

• Coffee in Tanzania: the whole country, its auctions and its harvest.
• Kagera: the robusta region where Tarime’s farmers went to learn.
• Arusha: northern Tanzania’s other high-scoring arabica.