Tanzania will take part in the international fine coffee competition for the first time in history,
popularly known as Barista, which brings together all commercial coffee producers in the world to sustain the quality of the product, local media
reported on Wednesday.
Philip Gitao, the director of Eastern African Fine Coffees Association (EAFCA), was quoted as saying preparations for the event had been finalized and that Tanzania was set to join other East, Central and the Horn of Africa
countries that had been taking part in the competition over the last five years.
"Since 2004 Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia and South Africa had been taking part in the competition with the exception of Tanzania
despite the high quality of coffee from the east African country.
Preparation for the event had jointly been organized by the EAFCA and Coffee Quality Institute under the sponsorship of the United States of America through USAID," Gitao explained.
Participating countries of the Barista event would get to learn more about the intricacies of coffee business, particularly on sustained quality of the product to meet the expectations of consumers, he added.
On the nomination of a local coffee dealer to represent the nation, Gitao said the event would be preceded by local competition under the
supervision of the Tanzania Coffee Board to allow selection of the winner ahead of the international event scheduled for June 2010 in Britain.
A similar event will be held in Kenya's Mombasa before June next year, whereby coffee companies in East Africa will take part in a regional competition to advertize their products more extensively, according to the EAFCA director.
The 11th Annual World Barista Championship is set to be held on June 23-25 next year in London. The event will showcase the 2009- 2010 National
Champions of over 50 countries in the three-day competition.