At the tail end of 2024, we met with Keremba Warioba, and it has now led to our second harvest working with Communal Shamba and Mandomashe AMCOS (Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society). Keremba has done the coffee rounds, living in Melbourne in years past and absorbing all the specialty coffee knowledge he could. Taking his passion and knowledge before returning to Tanzania. Not only to support his own farms, but help build sustainability for other members in his community.
In previous years the community of coffee growers in Mbozi had to rely on a third party to sell their coffee. With Keremba’s guidance, they’ve stepped into independence. Wherever he goes, quality follows. It’s a bold move, stepping out on your own, especially in a system that doesn’t always reward small producers for taking risks. But with Communal Shamba behind them, they’re backing themselves.
The partnership runs deep. Communal Shamba supplies the community with costly inputs before harvest to help lift both yields and quality. The coffee is fully washed at a shared Central Pulping Unit (CPU), improving consistency and processing standards across the board. Once dried, the parchment returns to Communal Shamba for milling and meticulous hand sorting to produce export-grade lots.
Mandomashe AB Washed (Mando, as we’ve affectionately dubbed it), has become a staple and favourite in the Commonfolk universe. This year it even competed in Taste of Harvest competition, part of the AFCA (African Fine Coffee Association). We can see why. Mando’s a crowd pleaser with nice acidy of lemon and lime cordial and berries whilst also being sweet and rounded with fudge and cola notes.
This is the way.
