Origins / Mbeya (Southern Highlands)tz-mbeya
Mbeya (Southern Highlands)
Tanzania · Mbeya Region (Kyela District, near Lake Nyasa)
reviewed
admixture
A cacao-growing area in Tanzania's Southern Highlands where the Kyela district accounts for roughly 80 percent of national cocoa output, much of it organically grown by smallholders on small plots. The Mababu Cooperative was recognised as a 2019 Cocoa of Excellence producer; the Livy Africa-owned Mababu Chocolate brand uses Kyela beans noted for berry-fruit character.
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— Ecuador Hacienda Limón — Ecuador Los Ríos — Ecuador Manabí — Ecuador Napo (Kallari) — Ecuador Norte de Esmeraldas — APROCANE — Ecuador Sucumbíos — Ecuador Vinces — Ecuador Zamora-Chinchipe — APEOSAE — Ecuador Vanua Levu — Fiji ABOCFA (Suhum) — Ghana Ghana (West African Amelonado) — Ghana Juabeso-Bia — Ghana Kuapa Kokoo — Ghana Offinso Fine Flavour Cooperative — Ghana Sefwi-Wiawso — Ghana Yayra Glover (Suhum) — Ghana Grenada — Grenada Grenada Chocolate Cooperative — Hermitage — Grenada Alta Verapaz — Guatemala Cahabón — Guatemala Izabal — Guatemala Lachuá — Guatemala Polochic Valley — Guatemala Suchitepéquez — Guatemala Guinea (bulk cacao) — Guinea Acul-du-Nord — Haiti Grand-Anse — Dame-Marie — Haiti Grand'Anse — Haiti Nord (FECCANO) — Haiti Atlántida (Pico Bonito) — Honduras Choloma — APACH — Honduras Copán — Honduras Patuca — Tawahka — Honduras Wampusirpi — Honduras East Godavari — India Idukki — India Karnataka — India Kerala — India Tamil Nadu — India West Godavari — India Aceh — 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Saint Lucia Island Growers — Saint Lucia Samoa — Samoa CECAB (São Tomé) — São Tomé and Príncipe CECAQ-11 (São Tomé) — São Tomé and Príncipe Príncipe (Terreiro Velho) — São Tomé and Príncipe Roça Agostinho Neto (Rio do Ouro) — São Tomé and Príncipe Roça Bombaim — São Tomé and Príncipe Roça Diogo Vaz — São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé (roça cacao) — São Tomé and Príncipe Ngoleagorbu (Kenema-Kailahun, Gola) — Sierra Leone Sierra Leone (bulk cacao) — Sierra Leone Guadalcanal — Solomon Islands Makira — Solomon Islands Malaita — Solomon Islands Solomon Islands — Solomon Islands Kandy — Sri Lanka Kurunegala — Sri Lanka Matale — Sri Lanka Rabot Estate (Soufrière) — St. Lucia Kokoa Kamili (Kilombero Valley) — Tanzania Kyela (Mababu) — Tanzania Mababu Cooperative — Tanzania Mbeya (Southern Highlands) — Tanzania Tanga (Usambara historical) — Tanzania Chanthaburi — Thailand Chiang Mai — Thailand Chumphon — Thailand Kpalimé-Akébou (Choco Togo / Vision+) — Togo Togo (bulk cacao) — Togo Brasso Seco — 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Nông — Vietnam Đồng Nai — Vietnam Lâm Đồng — Vietnam Tiền Giang — Vietnam
Country Tanzania Region Mbeya Region (Kyela District, near Lake Nyasa) Growing region Africa Coordinates -9.10°, 33.45° (approx.) Elevation 400-900 m Producer cooperative · Mababu Cooperative Society (Kyela) Genetic groups admixture Traditional class Trinitario Also known as Southern Highlands cacao, Kyela cacao Bean notes Predominantly Trinitario-type material grown by smallholders in the Kyela district near Lake Nyasa; widely reported as fine or flavour cocoa. Harvest season main Sep-Dec (Tanzanian cocoa harvest broadly Jul-Dec) Fermentation Smallholder and centralised box fermentation, commonly in three-tier wooden (eucalyptus) boxes for about 6 days; older practice uses banana-leaf-covered heaps. Drying Sun-dried on raised tables and mats/patios. Flavour red berry · strawberry · blueberry · bright acidity · cocoa Certifications organic Updated 2026-05-23
Sources Cocoa of Excellence Programme 2019 — Tanzania Mababu Cooperative (Mbeya/Kyela) producer profile — https://www.cacaoofexcellence.org/producers-of-excellence/2019-edition/producers/tanzania-mababu-cooperative Askinosie Chocolate, 'Mababu, Tanzania' (Kyela district, Trinitario, strawberry/blueberry notes, direct trade since 2010) — https://askinosie.com/pages/mababu-tanzania Daily News (Tanzania), 'Why Tanzania's cocoa deserves more attention' (Kyela ~80% of national output; ~99% organic) — https://dailynews.co.tz/why-tanzanias-cocoa-deserves-more-attention/ Kilimo Kwanza, 'Mbeya's Cocoa: SAGCOT CEO Kirenga Celebrates Mababu's Mastery' (Mababu Village, Kyela, Lake Nyasa, German introduction in early 1900s) — https://kilimokwanza.org/mbeyas-cocoa-sagcot-ceo-kirenga-celebrates-mababus-mastery-in-crafting-fine-chocolate/ Cacao of Excellence 2019, 'Tanzania Mababu Cooperative' — https://www.cacaoofexcellence.org/producers-of-excellence/2019-edition/producers/tanzania-mababu-cooperative
← Mababu Cooperative
Tanga (Usambara historical) →
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c09d95aa765162f4
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reviewed
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2026-05-23
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