Zambia RFA AA/AAA - Isanya Estate

Cup notes available upon arrival

Bag Weight	60 KG BAG
Harvest Season	2024/25
Status	ETA Dec 2025
Lot Number	P614297-4

Carteret, NJ: Out of Stock Bag(s)

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About This Coffee

Isanya in the local language of the peaceful Luonga tribe means ‘great plain on a mountain’. This picturesque farm is located between lake Chila and Mount Nsunzu with a history reaching back to the early 20th century. In the year 1918, a British pilot crashed on the estate and fell in love with the nurse who saved his life in the local hospital. After marrying, the couple decided to start farming the fertile lands. Originally growing food crops for the local market, Isanya planted its first coffee in 1980 alongside maize and has gradually migrated to 100% coffee production.

The estate is divided between sustainably irrigated coffee plantings and 565 hectares of conservation area and environmental buffer zones. Isanya’s coffee is processed in an on-site wet mill and kept for 6 weeks in wooden silos for conditioning. To assure the highest possible quality, parchment is then transported a short distance to the Kateshi dry mill to be prepared for export.

Country of Origin	Zambia
Region	Northern Province
Producer Type	Single Estate
Farm Name	Isanya Estate
Processing	Washed
Processing Description	Sun-dried on patios
Growing Altitude	1650m

Harvest Season	2024/25
Bag Weight	60 KG BAG
Bag Type	Grain Pro / Ecotact
Plant Species	Arabica
Variety	Catimor 129, Java
Certifications	Rainforest Alliance Certified (IP)

History of Coffee in Zambia

The history of Zambian coffee seems familiar: men in Holy Orders of one sort or another arrive and plant seeds. But in the case of Zambia, missionaries did not introduce coffee farming until the 1950s. By the time commercial coffee production began in Zambia, the British had considerable experience in starting and operating coffee plantations in India, Kenya, and elsewhere. Planting coffee was an attempt to decrease a dependence on copper exports. Not surprisingly, the emphasis was on yield and production efficiencies. Plantations were large and orderly, grown in full sun on flat land, and processed in large wet mills wherever possible. Nevertheless Zambia made almost no appearance whatsoever on the world coffee stage until coffee was officially exported for the first time in 1985.

Growing Coffee in Zambia

The Northern province has the best conditions for arabica coffee cultivation in Zambia with its relative proximity to the equator and abundant altitude (Mafinga Hills being the highest point in the country at 2,300 masl). Most coffee grows from 1300 - 2300 masl. Zambia produces both washed and naturally processed coffee and has introduced some honey processing. A wide range of varieties including Catimor 129, Castillo, Java, and other trial varieties. Specialty grades are AAA, AA, AB and Peaberry.