Just a little smaller than Mississippi, Malawi is a landlocked country and yet is
home to over 400 miles of lakefront land. One-third of Malawi is taken up by Lake Malawi, one of the
world’s deepest lakes, reflecting the altitudes that borders its shores. Coffee first came to Malawi in
1878 and was grown by both local farmers and Europeans, but production and exports were nominal until
the 1950’s when the government distributed seeds in an effort to encourage an increase in cash crops for
export. This effort was primarily focused on farmers in the northernmost highlands on the border with
Tanzania, the “Misuku Hills.” Enough small farmers started growing coffee that in 1957 they formed the
Misuku Coffee Growers Cooperative Society, which is still in operation today.
Growing Coffee in Malawi:
Like Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and eastern Zambia, Malawi is part of
the East African Rift Valley which, geologically and as far as coffee is
concerned, means ideal altitudes and volcanic soil. In addition to the
many smallholder farms of the Misuku Hills in the highlands of northern
Malawi above the shores of Lake Malawi, there are a handful of larger
estates in the south on what explorer Dr. Livingstone dubbed the “Shire
Plateau,” also known as the Shire Highlands. The small coffee farmers of
central and northern Malawi have a long tradition of forming cooperatives, or “Unions” of farmers. Compared to tobacco, sugar, and tea, coffee
production has always been small, less than 5% of exports, but that
number is growing as a focus on quality processing for the specialty
market increases and farmers are incentivized by better prices.
The Process:
Ripe cherries are dried on a patio in the sun for 15-20 days. The cherries
are continuously raked, taking into account the direction of the sun, to
ensure consistent drying.
About This Coffee:
Coffee has been grown on Sable Farm in
Southern Malawi for over 30 years alongside
dairy and macadamia nuts. Sable Farming
Company Ltd. is the only existing incorporated
coffee producer in Malawi.
