African coffee enjoys high global recognition, as Africa is home to many coffee-producing countries, and Ethiopia is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of coffee. There are also many other coffee-producing nations, such as Zambia.

Zambia

The Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in south-central Africa, sharing borders with nine nations: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. It covers a land area of 752,614 square kilometers.

The flag of Zambia is rectangular in shape, with a green field. In the lower right corner, there is a vertical rectangle composed of three equal horizontal stripes of red, black, and orange placed vertically side by side, with an eagle soaring above them. The green symbolizes the country’s natural resources, the red represents the struggle for freedom, the black stands for the people of Zambia, the orange symbolizes the country’s mineral wealth, and the soaring eagle represents Zambia’s independence and freedom.

Most of Zambia consists of a plateau with an elevation of 1,000–1,500 meters. The terrain generally slopes from the northeast to the southwest and is divided into five main regions: the Great Rift Valley region in the northeast, the Katanga Plateau region in the north, the Kalahari Basin region in the southwest, the Luangwa-Malawi Plateau region in the southeast, and the Luangwa River Basin region in the central part.

Zambia has a tropical savanna climate that is mild and cool, with an average annual temperature between 18–20°C. The year is divided into three seasons: the cool dry season from May to August, which is the harvest period for most crops; the hot dry season from September to November, when temperatures are higher on average; and the warm wet season from December to April, when most of the annual rainfall occurs, decreasing from 1,400 mm in the north to 700 mm in the south. The land is fertile and the climate is mild, making it suitable for growing coffee and various other crops.

Coffee Growing Regions

Coffee is primarily grown in Muchinga, Northern, Luapula, Copperbelt, Lusaka, and North-Western provinces. In Zambia, coffee cultivation is mostly carried out on large estates, and all coffee grown is of the Arabica variety. The majority of plantings consist of the Catimor series and the SL28 variety, with the harvest season running from October to March.

Northern Province: Located in the northern part of the country, it borders Tanzania. Muchinga Province was originally part of the Northern Province but was newly established after the election of the fifth president in 2011. The province is situated on the Katanga Plateau, with coffee cultivation occurring at elevations between 1,000 and 1,500 meters. It also has several rivers, making it very suitable for coffee growing.

Lusaka Province: This province is located in the southern part of Zambia and is also the capital of Zambia. It borders Zimbabwe and has an average elevation of about 1,279 meters. It is an important commercial and industrial center as well as a hub for agricultural product distribution, with coffee grown at elevations around 1,200–1,500 meters.

Copperbelt: Located in the central-northern part, most of it belongs to the eastern section of the Central African Katanga Plateau, with elevations generally above 1000 meters. The province is rich in polymetallic minerals, mainly copper, and is traversed by the Kafue River and its tributaries. The coffee-growing elevation ranges between 1000-1500 meters.