The first coffee grown in the Kilimanjaro region was planted by Catholic missionaries in Kilema at the end of the 19th Century. Throughout the 20th century, western demand for coffee grew and as a result cultivation spread through many regions of Tanzania. 

Peaberry is different to the normal coffee bean in that the fruit (cherry) of the coffee plant contains two beans that develop with flattened facing sides, but sometimes only one of the two beans is fertilized, and the single seed develops with nothing to flatten it. This oval (or pea-shaped) bean is known as peaberry. Typically around 5% of all coffee beans harvested are classified as a peaberry.