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Name: Mzuzu Coffee
Country of origin: Malawi
Grown by: 'Smallholder Coffee Framers Trust' made up
of 3500 farmers in five growing regions across northern Malawi.
Growing Altitudes: 1000-2500m
Varieties: Catimor, Agaro, Geisha, Mundo Novo, Blue Mountain
and Cattura.
Flavour: Very fine flavour with a balanced body and acidity.
 Click
on the links to find out more about:
The green beans are imported into the UK, where they are hand
roasted, by Pollards of Sheffield.
Hand roasting the beans guarantees that the coffee is roasted
evenly and for exactly the correct period of time ensuring a
perfectly smooth flavour. The coffee beans are then air cooled
before being ground and packed into resealable foil bags for
sale. The coffee is then sold, with the profits made being used
to assist specific projects in Malawi.
Coffee Comments :
"I just wanted to let you know that we have ordered
another four kilos of your rather fine coffee beans - we have
had lots of compliments on the coffee from friends too!"
Emma Brown (London) 01/10/02
"The coffee is typically African with good acidity
and a full body which produces an excellent drink when made
in a cafetierre or filter machine." Simon Bower (Pollards)
A true single origin coffee from the warm heart of Africa
 Why
not visit our online Malawi Coffee Shop
and buy some of our coffee now and tell us what you think of
it. If you're nice enough we might include your comments on
this page too!
 What
are the projects supported?
Why
Malawi?
Brief History
Missionaries introduced the coffee in the north of the country
in the 1930's. The missionaries produced seedlings for selling
to farmers around them and in turn farmers sold their processed
coffee parchment back to the missionaries.
Later on, coffee cooperatives were established with the help
of the British colonial government. The cooperatives used to
market coffee through MOSHI in Tanzania. After independence
in 1964, cooperatives were dissolved and ADMARC (Agricultural
Development Marketing Cooperation) took over the activities
of the coffee cooperatives. Eventually in March 1999 this was
replaced by the Smallholder Coffee Farmers Trust, through which
farmers run their own affairs as a business venture via their
own regional associations.
Description and location of coffee growing areas
MISUKU HIILLS
Description of location: Close to the Songwe River, which
forms the natural boundary between Malawi and Tanzania. It is
made up of 4 parallel ridges and plateau (It is over 320Km away
form Mzuzu City the Capital of Northern Malawi).
Growing Altitude: 1700-2000 meters
Climate: Temp between 21.9C and 9.9C since 1983 at 1600m
Annual Rainfall range for 2000mm to 1500mm
Production: As of June 2000, the area had 566 ha under coffee
leading to a coffee holding size of 0.28ha/coffee grower.
Notes: The area produces the best coffee in the country.
The area produces 50-60% of all the coffee marketed by the Smallholder
Coffee Farmers Trust.
PHOKA HIILLS
Description of location: This area is located to the
eastern part of the Nyika National Park (eastern face of the
Nyika escarpment). It is on the western part of Livingstonia
plateau and 145Km from Mzuzu. The area is dominated by the high
Nyika plateau, which rises to 2500m above sea level.
Growing Altitude: 1200-2500 metres
Climate: Temp between 19C and 7C Annual Rainfall 1800mm
Production: 125 ha under coffee leading to a coffee holding
size of 0.27ha/coffee grower.
Notes: The area produces high quality coffee, especially
growers from Chakak, Mphachi, Salawe, Junji and VunguVungu areas.
VIPHYA NORTH AREA
Description of location: Viphya North area encompasses the
part of the North Vipypa Plateau separated from Nkhata Bay Highlands
by the deep valley of the Lizunkhumi River.
Growing Altitude: 1200-1500 meters
Climate: Temp between 18C and 7C Annual Rainfall 1700mm
Production: 77 ha under coffee leading to a coffee holding
size of 0.32ha/coffee grower.
SOUTH EAST MZIMBA AREA
Description of location: It is located on the southern part
of the south Viphya plateau. It is 190Km away from Mzuzu city.
It occupies the upper valley of the Luweledzi, Rukuru and Rupashe
River Systems.
Growing Altitude: 1200-1700 metres
Climate: Annual rainfall 1400mm
Production: 78 ha under coffee leading to a coffee holding
size of 0.20ha/coffee grower.
NKHATA BAY HIGHLANDS 
Description of location: The area includes localities
to the south west and south east of Mzuzu city on the southern
end of the north Viphya plateau.
Growing Altitude: 1000-2000 metres
Climate: Annual rainfall 2000mm. Temp between 0C and 32C
at 1225m
Production: 33 ha under coffee leading to a coffee holding
size of 0.10ha/coffee grower.
Cultivation Practices
 Over
3,500 thousand coffee growers are scattered in the five coffee
growing areas. There is a Coffee Framer Association for each
of the coffee growing areas. The associations are responsible
for the coffee seedlings production, farming input, mobilization,
road maintenance and primary processing of the coffee. These
are assisted by coffee association advisors, one allocated to
each of the five coffee growers associations.
Due to the terrain of the coffee growing areas, almost 70-80%
of all the coffee is grown on terraces. Most of the coffee is
grown with organic fertilizer; disease and insect pest control
is carried out using integrated pest management principles and
most of farmers don't use any chemicals  unless
the situation becomes serious.
Coffee trees are not allowed to produce any crop untill they
are three years old. At this stage the tress are allowed to
carry half crop, and they will remain in production for 5-10
years. Flowering starts between September and November depending
on location. Harvesting is carried out between May and October
of every year.
Varieties
 The
farmers grow only Arabica coffee. Popular varieties grown are
Agaro and Geisha, although Agaro is becoming unpopular with
farmers due to problems with coffee berry disease and leaf rust.
Catimor populations are becoming very popular amongst the farmers
because of their ability to withstand Leaf Rust. There are more
plantings of this variety now than any other variety. Some old
varieties introduced by early missionaries still exist including
Mundo Novo, Blue Mountian and Catura.
Coffee Processing
 Cherry
harvesting by farmers starts as early as 6.00am. Red Cherries
are individually picked by hand and placed in bamboo woven baskets
our old jute bags, before transporting the cherries on the head
to the nearest pulpery. These pulperies (machinery that separates
coffee pulps from beans) are located centrally within a 5km
radius of the farms. This enables farmers to deliver their coffee
before fermentation starts in the harvesting baskets/bags. Farmers
manage the primary process on their own with technical assistance
provided by coffee association advisors and some extension workers.
Once the coffee cherries are pulped, the beans are let into
washing channels where floaters, lights and sinkers are separated
and led into separate fermentation tanks; floaters are discarded
while light, medium light and sinkers are fermented as separate
grade. After fermentation is completed within 48-72hrs, the
wet parchment is placed on skin drying trays before being placed
on raised drying tables. Throughout the process, gravity fed
fresh water is used; this helps in producing beans which are
clean without off flavours.
The coffee is dried in the sun on drying tables, a process
which is completed when the bean becomes brittle. Dried parchment
is placed in jute bags weighing 55Kgs and placed in grass thatched
parchment sheds for 10-14 days. This helps in conditioning the
coffee while waiting for lorries to collect the parchment and
take it to the central hulling plant in Mzuzu.
Secondary Processing
 On
arrival of each delivery of coffee parchment in Mzuzu, the quality
control department of the trust takes samples of parchment for
quality checks, carried out in the trusts laboratory. The checks
focus on the moisture content, parchment classification, roast
assessment and cup tasting
 Depending
on the result of the quality checks, the parchment coffee is
hulled using the trusts hulling plant, which polishes and grades
the beans. Sorting of the diseased, blacks and other bad beans
is carried out manually by experienced workers who are employed
seasonally.
 Finally
lots of 285 x 60Kgs bags of green beans are made after careful
cup tasting.
Marketing
Coffee marketing in Malawi is completely liberalized. Farmers
are free to sell coffee to anyone, provided they make a profit.
The trusts objective is to pay the farmers a fair price to help
in poverty alleviation. The trust usually pays farmers between
60-80% of the export price realized.
The main bulk of the 200 tonnes plus annually exported by the
trust goes mainly to Germany and South Africa, some also goes
to Switzerland, Holland, USA and Japan. The trust also sells
approximate 24 tonnes annually into the domestic market and
if you visit any of the major hotels in Malawi or foreign embassies
you are bound to be served a cup of Mzuzu coffee.
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