One of our core values is ‘Ubuntu’. The philosophy of ‘Ubuntu’ is applied in many cultures across East and Southern Africa. Its meaning can be translated as “I am, because we are”, and it emphasizes a humanity towards others.
It matters so much to our team and to the farmers that we partner with that we operate with a spirit of togetherness. We wholly felt this reconnection of togetherness at the recent SCA Expo in Boston. It was so good to see people from all over the world gather for coffee once again. The event represents how truly communal coffee is and why we love being a part of it so much. This was our first SCA since 2018 and we left over-caffeinated and with full hearts.
The biggest highlight was encapsulated in a simple moment for Ben – going to specialty coffee legend George Howell’s cafe in the Godfrey Hotel, and drinking one of the coffees that inspired the start of our Kenya project – Mamuto, 2018 Harvest. What made this such a great moment wasn’t just drinking this amazing coffee again, but witnessing the intersection of relationship and coffee; the experience of drinking this vintage in the company of friends. The memories, associations, and nuances of coffee added to the experience created between an American, a Colombian, and a Brazilian discussing how to make coffee more sustainable.
Freezing coffee seems to be an idea that more and more roasters are exploring or embracing, although out of the roasters we work with, few are exploring it as sincerely as George. In fact, we can only think of two other roasters – Phil & Sebastian and Passenger Coffee – who, like George, freeze the entirety of their green (unroasted) coffee inventory. We do, however, know of a number of roasters experimenting with freezing as a way to solve or alleviate acute inventory problems. For specialty coffee, it is seen as a cutting-edge way to safeguard flavor. It keeps coffee from fading and developing the off-flavors associated with aging (namely paper and wood), but requires large amounts of space, time, and financial resources.
But above the process – the real connection to our project in Kirinyaga is that since 2016, we had been thinking about how we would move into the Kenyan coffee space and where we could add value through the spirit of Ubuntu. We didn’t want to just be coffee exporters, but producers – to dig deeper into the how and why we actually produce coffee.
And this is the journey we continue along now. Please connect with us if you’d like to know more about our journey.
With love,
Ben & Kristy