Tanzania Mbozi Songwe AA

Varietal: Mbozi Songwe AA

Cultivar: Wet Process Bourbon, N39

Tasting Notes: Turbinado Sugar, Orange Peel, Black Tea

Description: Fragrant citrus hints come through the clean sweet smells in the dry fragrance, marked by notes of demerara sugar, lemon zest, and fruit tea. The wet aroma showed a dark fruit and spice notes, raisins sprinkled with 5 Spice, and a strong scent of unrefined sugars. The cup has some of the vivid brightness common in East Africa coffees, not quite the intensity of high-toned coffees you might find in neighboring Kenya, but on par with tea-like coffees from Burundi and Rwanda. The cup profile is focused around sweet flavors that are layered with notes of clean raw sugars, like sucanat, turbinado, aromatic piloncillo, and more. My pour-over brew had very nice cup clarity as it cooled, opening up to accents of dried mango, fragrant orange peel, and cinnamon. The acidity in the Lighter roasts is a lot like black tea, brisk in mouthfeel, and ending with a familiar tannic bittering in the aftertaste.