I've been following the #cinnamoncupcoffee community for a long time and reading your experiences with the coffees you've had the chance to drink around the world.
And I'm thinking about the coffee I got as a gift 🙂
If I had been there, where my friend who brought me this coffee was, I would have flooded the Hive with photos and stories in some travel related communities.
Thus, since I have not been to Zanzibar, I can only tell this story, about my first coffee in this community.
In the gift box, I received one rosewood bowl with an elephant detail, which is beautiful and found its place on the shelf where we have the TV.
One beautiful wooden fridge magnet, featuring a local Zanzibar folklore figure, to add to my fridge magnet collection, as well as one pack of colorful decorative canvas.
I was amazed at the texture of this package under my fingers, when I realized it was canvas, not paper. It is a traditional African cloth that gave this gift a special touch.
And I was even more amazed when I saw that it was a package of coffee.
And not just any coffee, but Kilimanjaro Premium Coffee.
According to the friend who brought it to me, it is a high-quality 100% Arabica coffee, famous for being grown on the fertile, volcanic slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
And what do producers say about this coffee?
"Kilimanjaro Premium Coffee is 100% Arabica beans, grown on the slopes of glorious Mount Kilimanjaro at an altitude of 1,200-2,200 meters, giving our coffee the unique aroma and superior flavor of the volcanic mountain! Our commitment to providing top quality coffee starts with the procurement of beans from various small scale farmers in the Kilimanjaro region. The beans are meticulously cared for and only the best are harvested.
Our premium beans are then carefully sorted, graded and craft roasted in small batches. We strive to bring out the best qualities of our beans with each roasting, giving each cup of coffee a unique, one-of-a-kind taste!"
This is medium-ground, and after washing to ensure exceptional clarity for further export, and medium-roasted coffee that is characterized by a stronger level of acidity and a milder, silky body.
The acidity causes this coffee to be adorned with citrus notes, while the higher sugar level in this coffee can lead to notes of chocolate and caramel.
The recommendation for preparing this coffee is pour-over, rather than traditional cooking, because high water temperatures can "kill" the finest aromas of coffee, and you should definitely drink it without milk and sugar, so as not to maximize its natural fruity and floral notes.
This coffee is a premium product that offers a rich and sophisticated taste experience, which I consumed after traditional brewing, but also after pouring hot water.
Indeed, the taste of poured coffee is more intense.
Anyway, this coffee satisfied my coffee senses and I enjoyed drinking it and imagining the slopes of Kilimanjaro where it is grown.
I don't know if I will ever have the opportunity to go to Tanzania and see those coffee plantations live, but I know that I will enjoy this gift until the last coffee spoon in the jar in which I poured this coffee.