Tanzania Igamba coffee – a light and delicate coffee with a distinctive black tea flavor.

The first coffee from Drift Away Coffee we tried was their El Salvador Santa Maria.

This second coffee from Tanzania is very, very different.

But before we get to the tasting, let me say one thing about the Drift Away Coffee website, and the tasting notes they provide.

When we review a coffee we always taste it blind. We know from the label which region the coffee comes from, but we don’t read any other reviews, or the roaster’s tasting notes before trying the coffee ourselves. For obvious reasons.

Anyway, after tasting this coffee from Tanzania, and writing down our own observations, I then turned to the tasting notes on the Drift Away Coffee website.

As is usually the case, our own tasting corresponded pretty closely with theirs. But what struck me was the detail I found on their site.

With many coffees we review, there really isn’t that much information shared on the roaster’s website. Usually just a few lines.

But with Drift Away Coffee, you get a ton of information on each of the coffees they sell.

For this coffee they provide background on both the region from which this coffee comes, the farm on which it was grown – Kanji Lalji Fram – and even the coffee varietal and the process by which the beans are separated from the fruit or cherries.

If you are into quality coffees, this kind of detail is immensely useful.

So...kudos to Drift Away Coffee.

OK, now to our tasting. As always we brewed it in our Bonavita drip brewer, let it sit for a while to cool a little, and then tasted it black.

This is a very different coffee. At least, it us for us, as we tend to drink medium or dark roasted coffees most of the time.

This Tanzania Igamba is light roasted, and has a distinctive taste profile.

The mouthfeel is light with very little acidity. There is a natural sweetness there that comes over as a delicate fruit taste.

But for us the most distinctive flavor is a slightly astringent black tea taste. No kidding...you take a sip and part of your mind thinks you’re drinking black tea.

The overall feel is light and subtle.

This isn’t the kind of coffee we would reach for first thing in the morning. But I can see it fitting in very nicely after dessert at lunchtime or after dinner.

If you would like to try it for yourself, check out the Drift Away Coffee website. When you sign up for their subscription-based coffee club, this is just one of the coffees you can try.

More on coffee clubs...

NOTE: This product was sent to us free in return for a review. (That said, we always reserve the right NOT to review a free product if we don't like it, or feel you wouldn't like it.)

About the author: Nick Usborne, aka Coffee Detective, is a writer and long-time coffee enthusiast. Read more…