diff --git a/spring-kafka/src/main/java/org/springframework/kafka/listener/KafkaConsumerBackoffManager.java b/spring-kafka/src/main/java/org/springframework/kafka/listener/KafkaConsumerBackoffManager.java
index 1a6da6e858..4522b61a09 100644
--- a/spring-kafka/src/main/java/org/springframework/kafka/listener/KafkaConsumerBackoffManager.java
+++ b/spring-kafka/src/main/java/org/springframework/kafka/listener/KafkaConsumerBackoffManager.java
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ default Context createContext(long dueTimestamp, String listenerId, TopicPartiti
 	 * Provides the state that will be used for backing off.
 	 * @since 2.7
 	 */
-	class Context {
+	public class Context {
 
 		/**
 		 * The time after which the message should be processed,