Mount Sunzu Zambia
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Mount Sunzu is a single estate coffee that is moody and complex, with dark chocolate, ripe brambles and dark berries carrying through a long, layered finish.
The cup
A single estate coffee that is moody and complex, with dark chocolate, ripe brambles and dark berries carrying through a long, layered finish.
The Producer
Mount Sunzu Coffee is nestled at the foot of Zambia’s highest mountain. Founded by Swiss agronomists and entrepreneurs, Mount Sunzu combines quality-focused coffee production with climate-smart practices and long-term community investment. They focus on producing speciality coffee that balances quality, sustainability, and integrity. The coffee is grown on a single farm, allowing full oversight, traceability and consistency from seed to cup. It is cultivated under ideal conditions and processed to highlight its unique characteristics — always with a focus on quality.
But quality goes beyond taste: it includes how they care for the environment, treat people, and build lasting relationships. They actively protect the local Miombo forest (and are reforesting 600 hectares), use solar-powered irrigation, and apply climate-smart agricultural techniques to reduce their footprint. They also support biodiversity through beekeeping.
Socially, they create fair jobs, offer training, and work closely with the community. More than 120 local staff are employed year-round, with additional seasonal workers. Employees receive pensions, health insurance, and accident cover.
The farm also invests in local infrastructure, including an 8 km road network, with future plans to support clean water and solar access for the surrounding community.
- created 300 jobs, provide pension funds and health insurance for employees and families.
- installed 92kW solar panels to reduce emissions
- 77% of their land is reserved to protect the native Miombo forest and Dambo wetlands
- installing beehives to promote biodiversity
- Investing in local infrastructure to provide clean water and solar for the community
The country
Zambia entered the coffee industry later than most African origins, with significant growth beginning in the 1970s through initiatives led by the World Bank, the Zambian government, and later the FAO. These projects encouraged widespread smallholder cultivation, boosting national production. However, funding withdrawals and a severe drought in 2005/06 caused many farmers to abandon coffee for more reliable crops.
Despite these setbacks, Zambia has strong potential as a coffee origin due to its favourable climate and abundant water resources. Coffee production is split between smallholders and a small number of large estates, concentrated mainly in the Muchinga Mountains of Northern Province, with additional estates in Serenje and around Lusaka in the Southern Province.
The process
This lot was processed entirely on-site at Mount Sunzu’s wet and dry mill. Ripe Starmaya cherries were carefully picked, floated, and pulped, then fermented for 24 hours in 1000 ml tanks without water, relying on naturally occurring yeast and bacteria to develop complexity and structure. The coffee was dried for ten days on raised beds, covered at night for consistency, before being hulled, graded, and hand sorted.
Sourcing: Producer images provided by Omwani and Mount Sunzu
| Source | |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Region | Mbala |
| Wash station | Onsite at Mount Sunzu |
| Roast | Medium roast |
| Cupping score | 84 |
| Altitude | 1600m |
| Flavour | brambles, dark berries, dark chocolate |
| Process | Washed |
| Variety | Starmaya |
| Harvest | 2024/25 |
1 review for Mount Sunzu Zambia
A cupping score is a 100-point metric, established by the Specialtiy Coffee Association (SCA), used by certified Q Graders to evaluate the quality of coffee beans. It measures attributes like aroma, flavour, acidity, body, and balance. The grading is as follows:
Cupping Score | Grade |
|---|---|
90-100 | Speciality – Competition |
85>90 | Speciality – Excellent |
80>85 | Speciality – Very good |
>80 | Commercial/Commodity |
75% of Cupper’s Journey’s coffees are 85+ and any new coffees we stock will all be at least 85.
Read more about it in the Beyond the Bean article:
Once opened and exposed to air, roasted coffee starts to oxidise. The greater the surface area, the quicker this process. This is why we recommend, where possible, that you buy your beans whole and grind to order.
Our coffee comes with the roasted date on pack. We like our coffee to ‘settle’ after roasting for around 2 weeks to ‘de-gas’. The lighter the roast level, the longer the settling period needed. Freshly roasted light coffee is packed with CO₂. Resting allows this gas to escape, reducing acidity and allowing complex flavours (fruitiness, acidity, sweetness) to develop.
We recommend that you consume our beans within 4 months of the roast date following the settling period. That said, coffee beans will easily keep for 12 months if stored correctly.
Coffee should not be stored in the Fridge or Freezer but in an airtight container in a cool dark place. This is because of the increased humidity in the fridge and the condensation that occurs with sharp temperature changes. Coffee absorbs both water and odours so storing it in a fridge will severely impact the flavour and freshness.
To keep your beans (or ground coffee) fresher for longer, store them in an opaque airtight container (remove as much air as possible if you can). Our 250g bags are resealable and have a one-way valve so you can keep your coffee fresh – just expel as much air as possible and zip back up! Then store in a cool dark place like a pantry.
Wherever possible we recommend that you purchase whole bean coffee. Investing in a grinder so that you can grind fresh will have one of the greatest positive effects on the quality of your brew. If that is not an option, then buy smaller bags more frequently in order to maximise freshness.
Our 250g bags have a one-way value that allows CO₂ to escape while keeping the oxygen out and will keep your coffee fresh until opened. This means that you can subscribe to 3x250g bags to get FREE delivery while knowing that the 3rd bag will be as good as the first!
Coffee roast level affects taste: light roasts are bright and floral, medium roasts balanced and sweet, while dark roasts are bold and smoky. We like to allow our speciality African coffees to sing, and to bring out the best of their bright, floral flavours requires a lighter touch. The goal is not to change the bean but to preserve its character. Lighter roasts have bright, crisp, and often complex flavour profiles. These are ideal for pour over brew methods.
Medium roast levels allow the bean’s innate character to mix with the rich, comforting flavours developed during roasting. The sharp acidity you find in lighter profiles mellows out into a smooth, rounded sweetness. The delicate fruit and floral notes evolve into something deeper and more familiar— think toasted nuts, creamy milk chocolate, and rich caramel.
When refining our roast recipe for each individual lot, we cup multiple times until we are happy that we have coaxed the best performance out of the bean. We are strong champions of the pour over method and think that all of our coffees are at their very best when brewed this way.
African Coffee has very complex flavour notes that are affected by the variety of bean, the terroir and the processing techniques. We go into depth about this in the articles below:
Stale coffee typically smells weak, musty, or dull rather than fragrant. When brewed, it tastes flat, cardboard-like, or sour, often lacking acidity. Physically, old beans may appear faded, dry, or have an oil-streaked, rancid surface, while ground coffee feels grainy instead of slightly oily or sticky.
If you use a pour over or French press, you might notice that the ‘bloom’ has gone. The ‘bloom’ is the release of CO₂ gases which occurs when the coffee is fresh. Stale coffee won’t produce this reaction so if you notice a change, it is time for a restock!
Make sure you store your coffees correctly to maintain their freshness for longer.
If you are unsure as to whether you will like the coffee please study the tasting notes as they will give you a clear idea of what to expect. Why not get a Tasting Adventure Pack which allows you to explore samples of three different coffees before you purchase a larger quantity?
Refunds will not be issued for personal taste issues. Please see our refunds and exchanges policy for more details.
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David Beale –
Love this coffee. I’ve tried a few so far : there are a good range of varieties and have bundled mix packs packs so it’s pretty easy to find the one you like most. Costa Rica is a stonker (Trustpilot)
Cupper’s Journey –
Hey David. Don’t we all love a stonker! You are proof positive that whilst we love our African coffees here at Cuppers Journey we also have some real beauties from South America too. So glad you’re enjoying our coffee. Keep smiling Colin.