Winning Lots from Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Coffee Group Heading to Auction

Coffee production at the Ngila Estate in Northern Tanzania. Photo courtesy of the Alliance for Coffee Excellence.

The nonprofit Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) and Tanzania-based Ngorongoro Coffee Group have announced that 27 green coffees scoring between 85.31 and 90.31 points are heading to online auction on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

ACE is currently selling $25 registrations for the coffee auction, while a limited number of sample sets featuring the auction coffees are selling for $350, including the registration fee.

Comprising a number of producer groups from northern Tanzania that banded together to organize and promote global coffee sales, the Ngorongo Coffee Group typically holds an annual coffee event called Cupping at the Crater, held at the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater bordering a wildlife conservation area. The event was made impossible this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This reimagined version of the auction program is coming under the banner of ACE Private Collection Auctions, which are similar to ACE’s annual Cup of Excellence events but typically involve specific private auction partners, rather than open, countrywide participation.

The 27 winning coffees being put forth in the Ngorongoro Tanzania Private Collection Auction hail from five different farms, while reflecting six different post-harvest processing methods and 11 different coffee varieties.

Coffee production at the Acacia Hills Estate. Photo courtesy of the Alliance for Coffee Excellence.

Coffee lots from Ngorongoro group member Acacia Hills Coffee Estate took six of the top 10 spots in the coffee quality competition, including the top two spots with two different washed-process Gesha coffees. The third-place winner was a AA washed-process Kent variety from Ngila Estate, located on the edge of a cloud forest next to the Ngorongoro Crater.

The 27 winning lots range from 20 to 600 kilos, and bidding will begin at $4.50 per pound, according to ACE. More info on the auction is available here.