5. Lunji Estate – Tanzania Espresso

In 1898 the first coffee trees were planted on the farm, and the block of land was simply called ‘Mbeya block’ by its first owner, a German settler. The settler returned to Europe at the end of the WWI, leaving the management of the farm to the German Colonial Administrator, who ran the farm through to the end of 1971. The farm then passed into the hands of an Indian Family until 1994. At some point during these years, the farm was given the name ‘Lunji,’ which the current owners believe arises from "Ilunji" an ancient name in Safwa (the local tribal language) for a tree that is common in the region. While the word is not used anymore, older people still remember the word as the name of the tree.

In 1994 Clemens Maier and Thomas Plattner purchased the farm from the previous owner, who had abandoned the farm for many years due to illness. The farm was in a terrible state, since no management had taken place for several years. Work on the farm had stalled, buildings had crumbled down. Clemens and his wife, Stella, agreed to manage the farm and bring it back to life, but they had their work cut out for them. In1994, the garden was a thick bush, with the grass standing 1 metre high. The family still tells stories of 3 metre long cobras in the shed and puff-adders sunbathing on the windows of the farmhouse. They had to rebuild almost from scratch. Some coffee plots were entirely replanted, some needed the gaps to be filled, and everything needed a decent pruning.

Stella, being a Tanzanian and speaking over 5 tribal languages, was able to develop a very close relationship with the local community, which proved to be crucial for the wellbeing of the farm in numerous situations. Clemens originates from a farming community in Bavaria, Germany and was previously working for the German Aid Development programme. His decision not to return to his family’s dairy farm but rather to apply his technical skills to Lunji has kept the machines running every day. Together they have brought the farm back to life. The first year saw them yielding only 7 tonnes of green coffee. This went up to an average 80 tonnes by 2002 and a bumper crop of 250 tonnes in 2004.

The farm is currently focusing on quality, as Stella and Clemens know that specialty coffee production is on the rise in Europe. Currently around 60% of the farm’s total production is sold as specialty, but their dream is to increase this even further.