ACACIA HILLS, AB Washed

In 2007, Leon and Aideen Christianakis bought Acacia Hills Coffee Estate, located in the forested highlands of Ngorongoro, in northern Tanzania. Leon's family had a background in coffee farming in Tanzania, and with specialty coffee gaining attention at the time, the couple set out to develop the estate as a producer of high-altitude, shade-grown coffee. The estate was run-down and neglected when they took it over. It has since been developed into a producer of award-winning coffee through sustained work over several years.

The estate follows a philosophy of precision, patience, and sustainability. Coffee is grown in shade-grown and agroforestry systems, with ongoing experimentation aimed at maintaining both crop quality and the surrounding forest ecosystem. Leon also shares knowledge from the farm with visitors, interns, and other producers in the region. The farm cultivates Geisha, Kent, Pacamara, and SL28 varietals there. Each lot and process is evaluated in an on-site cupping lab throughout the harvest, with cupping scores used to track quality and consistency and catch problems early.

The coffee is shade grown in managed microclimates in the Ngorongoro highlands. The farm is shade-grown and run as part of an agroforestry system, which supports biodiversity and soil health. Practices include bio-char application and rotation cycles, intended to maintain the land over time and limit impact on the surrounding ecosystem. This lot is 100% Kent variety which typically shows a balanced flavour profile with bright acidity and citrus tones. The washed process was used to produce a clean, crisp profile.

Kent is a classic Coffea arabica variety, selected around 1911 by English planter L. P. Kent from a standout tree on the Doddengudda Estate in Mysore, India. Though drawn from local Typica populations, genetic analysis shows strong links to the Bourbon family. It was one of the first coffee selections bred for resistance to coffee leaf rust, and during the 1920s and 1930s was widely distributed across India and introduced to East African estates, including in Tanzania, for its high yields and cup quality. Its original rust resistance has since broken down against newer fungal strains, and many farmers now favor more recent disease-resistant hybrids, but Kent remains valued for its cup quality and is still grown on select estates.

In the cup, Kent typically offers a balanced, smooth profile with notes of dark chocolate, subtle spice, and ripe stone fruit, along with low-to-moderate, gentle acidity, mellow sweetness, and a clean aftertaste. The plant itself is tall-growing, with bronze-tipped new leaves and broad seeds.

The washed process was designed to minimise the risk of off-flavours caused by uncontrolled fermentation during the natural process. Cherries are typically sorted using a flotation tank, where under-ripe or defective fruits float to the top and can be removed. The remaining cherries are then pulped and left in a tank to ferment until the sticky fruit mucilage is soft enough to be washed off the parchment, a paper-like layer surrounding the seed.

The design and cleanliness of the tanks used for fermentation are crucial, and the type, degree and speed of microbial activity depends on various factors. These include the amount of fruit remaining, the presence of bacteria and yeasts, whether the tank is filled with water, and the environmental conditions.

Once the mucilage has sufficiently degraded, it's washed away with water. The remaining parchment coffee, as it's commonly called, is then dried until it reaches a safe moisture content. The bacteria rich and sugary water used in the process must be treated carefully, as it can cause algae blooms if it enters streams and rivers.

In situations where large amounts of coffee are processed in bulk, such as in Ethiopia, some operations have found it economical to use a mechanical de-mucilager. This device removes all the fruit from the parchment with minimal water, bypassing the fermentation stage entirely. However, some believe this leads to a reduction in cup quality, as many flavour precursors are created through fermentation.