Tanzania Acacia Hills Kent AB

This is the second consecutive crop of the Kent varietal we have sourced from Acacia Hills. In August 2025, the roastery’s founder, Teodora Pitiș, visited the farm during the peak of the harvest, witnessing the process firsthand, tasting the fresh crop, and selecting the lots.

This year’s crop was particularly successful in both yield and uniform ripening. As positive as that sounds, it also meant that fast processing became a priority. Washing is the quickest processing method that preserves quality, making it the ideal solution for handling higher volumes. While there, Teodora witnessed the harvest of the Kent varietal on a record-breaking day, handpicked by 190 hardworking pickers.

The Kent varietal is the backbone of Acacia Hills, accounting for almost 70% of the farm’s plantings. It is a small-bean varietal, drought-resistant and resilient to pests, while still offering excellent cup quality. With the introduction of more shade trees, as well as additional shade for the drying beds, the quality of processing has improved overall, making the coffee taste even more complex and defined.

Similar to Rwanda, Tanzania has only recently gained recognition for its specialty coffee. With increasingly better infrastructure, improved access to washing stations, and stronger farmer organization, Tanzania is now consistently producing high-quality, specialty-grade coffee lots.

The producer’s story, Leon Christianakis, embodies the history of coffee production in northern Tanzania and vividly reflects the future of specialty coffee in the East African country. Leon is the third generation of coffee producers in his family. The family home is located on the outskirts of Arusha, near Kilimanjaro International Airport. His grandparents were immigrants who came to Tanzania from Greece in the early 1900s and used coffee production as a secondary source of income alongside their medical practice.

The farm, Acacia Hills, is the project of Leon and his wife, Aideen. They acquired it in 2007 because of its high altitude and proximity to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, hoping the coffee produced there could reach specialty level. Their efforts were rewarded in 2012 when they won a private auction in Tanzania organized by ACE (Alliance for Coffee Excellence) with their Geisha varietal.

Their efforts to transform Acacia Hills from a former German commercial coffee farm into a world-leading specialty coffee producer include not only improved agricultural practices, but also initiatives that support local biodiversity. One of the most significant efforts has been shading the farm by planting native tree species, including the majestic acacia trees, as well as replanting plots of land previously used for cattle grazing - a practice that had left the soil arid, infertile, and depleted.