SAHANA DIVA: The Mambila Mist, the Nigerian Bean

How a forgotten plateau in Taraba State is brewing Nigeria’s comeback, one cup at a time.

HISTORY

Coffee came to Nigeria in the early 1900s when British colonists planted seedlings in the highlands of Taraba, Cross River and the Mambilla Plateau. They were chasing the same cool air and volcanic soil that made East Africa famous.

The Mambilla Plateau sits at 1,600 to 2,000 meters. It gets heavy rain and year round chill. That slow, cold ripening is perfect for Arabica, giving smooth, aromatic, fruity notes. The lowlands of Ondo and Cross River mastered the other side, bold, intense Robusta. 

Nigeria then forgot its own bean. By 2020 national production had fallen to just 1,887 tonnes, down from 1,901 in 2019. Robusta made up about 96 percent of that, grown across 14 states on over 5,000 hectares. Arabica was left as only about 4 percent, mostly on Mambilla. 

Trees aged 40 to 50 years. Buyers stopped coming. Families pulled coffee for cocoa.

SAHANA DIVA was birthed on the Mambila Plateau to reverse that. The name means gift and divine, a nod to what locals call Nature’s Gift to Nigeria. The idea is simple, take the best of both Nigerian beans, highland Arabica from Mambila and lowland Robusta from across Nigeria, and take them from Nigeria to the world.

 CULTURE

Nigeria has always been a tea country. Low coffee consumption, few shops, specialty coffee priced like luxury. That is changing. Gen Z in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt is developing a taste for specialty coffee, influenced by global trends and the rise of cafes. 

On Mambila, coffee is not a trend. It is dawn mist on Gembu farms, hand picking red cherries, drying on raised beds. It is women sorting beans by hand, cooperatives sharing knowledge, smallholders acting as custodians of their land’s coffee heritage. 

SAHANA DIVA brews that culture into two profiles:

• Mambila Arabica: grown where the high altitude and cool climate create distinct flavour. Vibrant and fruity, clean, with chocolate undertones.

• Nigerian Robusta: lowland grown, higher caffeine, bold body, the backbone of espresso and the instant coffee Nigeria knows.

 BEST PRACTICES  

You cannot sell best of Nigeria without treating the farm right. Mambila faces climate variability, late rains, rising temperatures and deforestation. Quality also drops when processing is poor.

SAHANA DIVA field to cup playbook:

GROWING. Plant Arabica only above 1,600 meters on Mambila. Use shade trees and intercropping. Shade slows cherry maturation, that builds complexity.

MAINTENANCE. Clear weeds, prune, coppice old 40 to 50 year trees instead of replanting everything. Selective picking only red ripe cherries.

HARVEST. Hand pick in the dry season window. Mambila humidity falls then, so beans dry evenly.

PROCESSING. Washed process for Arabica to keep clarity and fruit. Natural process for Robusta to keep body and sweetness. Dry on raised beds, turn every hour.

ROASTING. SAHANA DIVA maintains Medium and Medium dark roast profiles for pure Mambila Arabica to protect its vibrant, fruity character. 

STORAGE. Keep beans whole, in airtight opaque bag, away from heat. Grind just before brewing.

SUSTAINABILITY. Buy direct from Mambila, Taraba State. Pay premium for quality, fund seedling nurseries, train farmers on climate adaptation. While farmers earn and stay.

WHY IT MATTERS

SAHANA DIVA is that swagger. From Mambila’s cold dawns to your morning mug, this is Nigeria answering its coffee challenge, good land, neglected farmers, missed opportunity, until now.

Tomorrow morning, try this: 18 grams SAHANA DIVA Mambila Arabica, light roast, pour over, 280 grams water. Smell the plateau. Taste the altitude. Know that a mountain community in Taraba is back on its ancestral land because you chose Nigerian.

That is not just coffee. That is Nigeria to the world.