Zanzibar Chocolate

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Experience the Flavours of Zanzibar

Step inside a sensory journey through chocolate, coffee, and chai. Discover how land, climate, craftsmanship, and centuries of trade have shaped Zanzibar’s most treasured flavours, from farm and forest to cup and bar.

CAFÉ

Located within the historic surroundings of Jafferji House, the museum café invites you to pause, relax, and indulge in the flavours that define Zanzibar’s rich culinary heritage.
Our carefully curated menu features Zanzibar-inspired snacks and treats, freshly prepared using locally sourced ingredients wherever possible. From handcrafted chocolate creations and aromatic Tanzanian coffee to spiced chai brewed in the island tradition, each offering is designed to complement your museum journey.
Pair your chocolate, coffee, or chai with a selection of light bites and indulgent treats, inspired by Swahili, Indian, and coastal flavours. Whether you choose a quick refreshment or a leisurely tasting experience, every bite reflects the craftsmanship, culture, and warmth of the islands.
Set within a warm and inviting heritage space, the café offers a moment of calm where history, flavour, and hospitality come together. It is the perfect place to continue your exploration—tasting, reflecting, and experiencing Zanzibar through its most beloved flavours.

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Chocolate

From Bean to Bar in Zanzibar

Fine-flavour cacao grown in Tanzania’s fertile valleys, particularly the Kilombero region, forms the foundation of the artisanal chocolate crafted on the islands. These landscapes combine rich alluvial soils, tropical forests, and smallholder farming traditions that prioritise quality over quantity. Cacao is cultivated within diverse agroforestry systems that support biodiversity, ecological balance, and sustainable livelihoods.

  • Harvesting fully ripe pods
  • Natural fermentation to develop flavour complexity
  • Sun drying, sorting, and grading
  • Transport to Zanzibar for roasting and production
  • Grinding, refining, conching, and tempering

Small-batch chocolate making allows Tanzanian terroir to shine, highlighting natural flavour notes of citrus brightness, red-berry fruit, nutty depth, and subtle spice. This craft approach emphasises transparency, traceability, and fair compensation for farming communities.

Zanzibar plays a distinctive role in this story. For centuries, the islands have connected East African agriculture to global culinary traditions through Indian Ocean trade routes. Today, this heritage continues through a new generation of bean-to-bar makers who reinterpret cacao with coastal influences, local spices, and tropical ingredients.

Our sister company, Zanzibar Artisan Chocolates Ltd., is the first in Zanzibar to produce chocolate locally at its own factory, allowing visitors to experience chocolate made on the islands themselves.

At the museum, guests taste island-made chocolate while learning the stories of land, labour, and craftsmanship behind every bar.

COFFEE

From Highlands to Cup

Tanzania is renowned for producing some of Africa’s finest high-altitude Arabica coffees, grown in regions such as Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Mbeya, Mbozi, and Mbinga. These landscapes provide ideal conditions, including mineral-rich volcanic soils, cool mountain climates, abundant rainfall, and high elevations that slow cherry ripening and intensify sweetness and complexity.
  • Nursery cultivation and hillside planting
  • Selective hand harvesting of ripe cherries
  • Washed, natural, and honey processing methods
  • Drying, sorting, grading, and storage

Roasting transforms green beans into aromatic coffee as sugars caramelise and natural oils emerge. Temperature, airflow, and timing determine flavour expression, from bright citrus and floral notes to chocolate-toned balance and deeper smoky intensity. Brewing methods such as pour-over, French press, espresso, and cold brew reveal the nuanced characteristics of origin and craft.

All roasting is done locally in our Zanzibar factory, allowing visitors to experience freshly roasted coffee as part of the museum journey. Guests can taste the richness of Tanzanian coffee while learning the stories of land, labour, and tradition behind every cup.

Chai (Tea)

Culture

Tea cultivation in Tanzania flourishes across the highland regions of Rungwe, Njombe, and Mufindi, where cool temperatures, mist-covered valleys, and fertile volcanic soils create ideal growing conditions. These landscapes support both large estates and networks of smallholder farmers, with elevation and climate shaping leaf quality, aroma, and flavour.

  • Plant varieties and pruning methods
  • Seasonal harvest cycles
  • Processing techniques including withering, rolling, oxidation, and drying
  • Black, green, and specialty teas
Zanzibar adds a distinctive cultural dimension to tea. Along the Swahili coast, tea is infused with spices such as cardamom, clove, cinnamon, ginger, and lemongrass, reflecting centuries of maritime trade linking East Africa, Arabia, India, and Southeast Asia. These spiced preparations transform tea into a social ritual and a symbol of hospitality.
At the museum, visitors engage with tea through guided tastings, chai blending experiences, and sensory storytelling. Here, tea is not only brewed. It is cultivated, blended, celebrated, and passed forward.