Tanz Damn

The first time I crossed paths with Neel Vohora, I was just a wide-eyed cupper at Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters back when the cupping table felt like church and every producer you met was a demigod in dirty boots. His coffee stuck with me like a favorite melody. Bright, complex, effortlessly elegant. The kind you sip and then stare at the wall for a moment. Fast forward to today at Heady Cup coffee roasters, and here I am, stoked to be serving Neel’s coffees again, only now with a more profound respect for the whole picture.

Neel and Kavita Vohora, a powerhouse sibling duo growing coffee along the southern slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest unbroken caldera, and a living, breathing miracle carved into the Tanzanian highlands. They’ve been farming here for decades, on about 1000 acres of heaven near Karatu in the Rift Valley, a place that feels like the Earth whispering its oldest stories. 

The Vohoras, third-generation Tanzanians of Indian heritage, have been in the coffee game since the dust settled after World War II. Their family export biz, based out of Arusha, has six decades of roots in this soil. Neel holds it down on the farm — curious, restless, experimental. He’s the kind of producer who’s not afraid to try, fail, learn, and come back stronger the following season. 

Kavita, a licensed Q grader and absolute quality hawk, runs the dry mill, roastery, and export operation out of Arusha. She’s brilliant, sharp on the cupping table, and somehow balances all that while raising a family. Their farms are now Rainforest Alliance certified and don’t just grow coffee. They steward a living ecosystem. Over 50 full-time workers call the estate home, with seasonal housing provided during harvest. 

They’re also planting macadamia trees, keeping bees, and giving local smallholders land to grow nitrogen-fixing beans, and turning sustainability into action, not just a brochure buzzword. Out of their Gaia Farm, 260 hectares are planted in coffee, organized into 50 micro-lots, each one a chapter of terroir and varietal nuance, and their harvest staff of 800 handles each bloc with intention. 

And it shows in the cup, from their coveted peaberries (a Tanzanian signature) to their ever-expanding lineup of innovative processing styles.  The Vohoras are giving us flavors we’ve never had the pleasure of tasting before. And yeah, they also keep terriers and ducks around the office. Because even amidst the science and structure, this is a family farm at heart. Working with Neel and Kavita again and catching up on what they’ve been up to feels like more than just sourcing coffee. It feels like coming home. There are limited supplies of these highly coveted coffees. Order today or die having never tasted these wonderful gems.

- KK