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Who Makes The
BEST COFFEE
Editorial sacred-geometry illustration for Blackburn Estate, not a photograph of this coffee or its packaging

Editorial illustration · not a coffee photograph

Editorial sacred-geometry artwork for Blackburn Estate; not a documentary photograph

Editorial illustration

Editorial sacred-geometry artwork for Blackburn Estate; not a documentary photograph

Editorial illustration

Editorial sacred-geometry artwork for Blackburn Estate; not a documentary photograph

Editorial illustration

🇹🇿Tanzania

Blackburn Estate

Roasted by Dark Woods CoffeeRoaster's website
TRADITIONAL PROCESS
TagsTanzaniaKaratu District, Arusha RegionWashedHazelnutMilk ChocolateArabicaSingle originBlackburn EstateMichael & Tina GehrkenDark Woods Coffee
🇹🇿TanzaniaWashedField Blend
Brand
—
Roaster website
Visit website
Country
🇹🇿Tanzania
Region
Karatu District, Arusha Region
Town
Oldeani
Farm / Station
Blackburn Estate
Farmer / Producer
Michael & Tina Gehrken
Species
Arabica
Type
Single origin
Grade
Not specified
Variety
Field Blend
Process
Roast
—
Tasting notes
Hazelnut, Milk chocolate, Red apple, Citrus
Fermentation
—
Drying
Sun-dried on raised screens (African beds)
Product page
Roaster's site
Date reviewed
—
Why some details are blank
  • region idKaratu District is verified within Arusha Region, but no existing Arusha Region entity was found; no overlapping related-entity creation was made in this sweep.
  • altitude mDark Woods does not disclose elevation for this exact seasonal release; farm-level ranges from other sources are not promoted to a lot-specific value.
  • roast levelThe exact page shows a proprietary roast scale value of 3 but no conventional light/medium/dark label.
  • fermentationThe roaster identifies the coffee as washed but does not disclose fermentation timing or method.
  • harvestThe exact product page does not disclose a harvest period.
  • roast dateNo bag-specific roast date is published.
Spotted an error? Report a correction →
The transparency chain

FROM THE BAG
BACK TO THE LAND.

Every link we could verify, traced in one place. Follow the chain as far as it goes — when the industry doesn't disclose a link, we say so instead of guessing.

  1. 01
    The name on the bag
    Blackburn Estate
  2. 02
    The brand
    Not disclosed
  3. 03
    The roaster
    Dark Woods Coffee
  4. 04
    The variety
    Field Blend
  5. 05
    The farm
    Blackburn Estate
  6. 06
    The farmer
    Michael & Tina Gehrken
  7. 07
    The region
    Karatu District, Arusha Region
  8. 08
    The country
    🇹🇿Tanzania
From the producer

Michael and Tina Gehrken produced this coffee at Blackburn Estate in Oldeani, Karatu District, Arusha Region, beside Tanzania's Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

From the roaster

The Blackburn Estate has its very own, beautifully organised wet mill and facility. Water from a spring high on the mountain feeds the washing process.

Why this coffee is noteworthy

Blackburn Estate handles this Kent-and-Nyassa coffee at its own wet mill, using spring water from Mount Oldeani for pulping and washing before sun-drying it on raised African beds. That estate-level infrastructure is unusually well documented for the release.

The honest process breakdown

WHAT DID THEY ACTUALLY
DO TO THIS COFFEE?

01
Estate wet mill

The coffee was processed at Blackburn Estate's own wet mill and facility.

02
Pulping and washing

Spring water from high on Mount Oldeani supplies reservoirs used for pulping and washing.

03
Raised-bed drying

After washing, the coffee was sun-dried on raised screens, also described as African beds.

04
Origin reconciliation

Karatu District was placed within Arusha Region using Tanzanian government geography. No Region entity was created because no exact existing Arusha record is available and this sweep avoids overlapping related-entity writes.

What was added?

Reverified the current £15.95/250 g offer, sold-out status, farm, producers, mixed Kent-and-Nyassa identity, Washed process and current roaster tasting notes.

What wasn't added?

No additives or inoculants are disclosed. Estate-level elevation claims and an older retailer's different tasting profile are not applied to this exact current seasonal release.

Why it matters

The documented estate mill, spring-water washing and raised-bed drying provide a traceable process chain without filling the remaining lot-specific gaps by inference.

What you might taste

Dark Woods lists hazelnut, milk chocolate, red apple, buttery texture and a crisp citrus finish.

Sources for these process claims
  • · https://darkwoodscoffee.co.uk/products/tanzania-blackburn-washed
  • · https://darkwoodscoffee.co.uk/blogs/news/producer-partnerships-africa-the-middle-east
  • · https://coffeehunter.com/exploring-the-savannahs-and-forests-of-blackburn-estate-tanzania/
Coffee profile

In the database. Not tasted. Not scored.

This coffee is in our database because we can reliably document it — but we haven't tasted and scored it yet, and we never publish a score we haven't earned.

Outside reviews and internet discussion — is kept clearly separate from our own review. When we taste it, our full review appears here.

The internet pulse

What the internet is saying about this coffee

Research complete — no qualifying reviews yet

Our research pipeline scanned public reviews, videos, forums and discussions for this coffee (last pass 2026-10-31) and found no independent review of this exact release that meets our verification standards. When qualifying sources appear, they'll be published here.

What we found

Drop by Local contains an authored exact-name tasting, but its £14 price and stewed-fruit/dark-chocolate/grapefruit profile identify a different seasonal presentation; it is excluded from the current release. Cherrybook, Bean Index and CoffeeComparer are catalogs or evidence indexes, while reviews of Blackburn coffees from other roasters are different releases.

Until then, meet the people behind it:

Meet the farm: Blackburn Estate →Meet the farmer: Michael & Tina Gehrken →
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