This coffee comes from the Igale AMCOS (the local term for a cooperative, abbreviated from Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society) in the Mbozi district of Songwe. Specifically, 443 producers from the villages of Idiwili, Ilomba, Iyula, Idunda, Ipyana and Igale contributed cherry. This Tanzania Igale Coffee Club Limited Edition is a limited run of 30 kilogram bags of coffee from the Igale AMCOS, in celebration of the Coffee Club at their neighboring high school.
Igale Coffee Club
InterAmerican Coffee is entering the second of its three-year commitment to the Tanzania Igale Coffee Club, an after-school program at the high schools neighboring Igale AMCOS. This program is a three year intensive and hands-on training that offers youth education at all levels of the value chain. The hope is that, in providing the education and practical skills, the young community members will have a tangible and economically viable option in an area with a high rate of unemployment. “If young people want to go to university, that’s wonderful. But if they decide to stay in the area, at least they’ll have knowledge about coffee — and really, more knowledge than the average coffee farmer — and a way to earn an income,” says Christophe Brinker, a trader at NKG Ibero Kenya.
Read more about what these young folks are learning and how the program came to be on our blog post.
Igale AMCOS
The AMCOS purchased a Penagos eco-pulper in 2019, allowing them to transition from collecting home-processed parchment to collecting cherry. The acquisition of this important equipment is twofold. It has not only allowed for more control over the pulping and drying phases of processing, but it has also served to increase local interest and volume by offering this additional service to local producers.
During the harvest, farmers delivered cherry between 4 and 7 p.m. The pulper was usually turned on around 6 p.m. and would run until around 9 p.m. After being pulped, the parchment was graded into P1, P2, P3, P lights and pods in the washing channels. The P1 and P2 were then fermented for 24 to 48 hours before being washed. The beans then went into tanks to soak for 8 to 12 hours and finally were dried on raised beds for 7 to 14 days.
Cupping notes: Dark chocolate, caramelized, soft-citrus acidity, creamy body, buttery.
Photos: Celebrating the arrival of the new Penagos; AMCOS members Feston Swasaka, Chaka Mwambuya and Mzee Mwamlima (from left to right); and students of the Igale Coffee Club getting hands-on experience on their teaching farm and a tour of the processing facility.
