Origin Explorer Box Set

This sweet yet delicate coffee from Kenya’s Central Highlands showcases a stunning balance of florals, fruits, and gentle spices. With additional tea-like notes and body, it’s an altogether delightful experience to sip.

Roast Level: Light 
Tasting Notes: Rose, White Grape Juice, Apple Crisp

Varieties: Ruiru 11, SL28, SL34
Growing Altitude: 1,650 masl
Processing Method: Washed, sun-dried on raised beds

Gulmarg is a 145ha coffee farm first established by British colonists but is now one of 6 estates owned and operated by Sasini, a publicly listed company with a majority Kenyan ownership.

Sasini’s estates have long placed an emphasis on equity and community. In the case of the estates’ workers this involves the provision of living quarters, early child education, union membership and guaranteed payment above minimum wage. In collaboration with Covoya and over 30 of their customers, they have also been able to invest further in the local primary school Njenga Karume. This has principally been through the building of a new computer lab to equip students with the IT skillset to maximise their oppotunities in an increasingly digital world.

It seems likely that coffee grew wild within the region that would become Kenya, buried deep inside impenetrable forests, or perhaps hiding in plain site; but it wasn’t until 1895 that missionaries both protestant and catholic attempted to grow coffee for commercial purposes. The 100 seeds from Reunion Island that would serve as progenitors to the Kenyan coffee industry arrived on a train, carried by priests belonging to an order known as “Holy Ghost Fathers.” On August 12th, 1899, they arrived at the spot that would quickly become the country’s capital city. One of the early protestant medical missionaries was Dr. Henry Scott. After his death in 1911, a new hospital complex was named after Dr. Scott and when the department of agriculture took over the complex in 1923 they kept the name: Scott Agricultural Laboratories, or “Scott Labs.” This is the origin of the “SL” in SL28 and other coffee varieties selected at the lab.

The Delgado family farm, Finca Quequezques, has rich volcanic soil that lends itself to beautiful coffee like this one, with its rich sweetness and smooth, creamy body.

Roast Level: Medium 
Tasting Notes: Pecan Praline, Caramel Ice Cream, Apricot

Varieties: Bourbon, Caturra, Catuai, Castillo Verde, Anacafe 14, Geisha, Pacamara, SL28
Growing Altitude: 1,550 - 1,750 masl
Processing Method: Washed

The Delgado family has farmed coffee on these lands in the fertile highlands of San Juan Sacatepéquez for generations. Once a pine forest, Finca Quequezques (pronounced: keh-kehz-kehz) is now a fully integrated coffee farm and mill operation, allowing the Delgados to maintain a high level of quality control over their output, working both with a focus on tradition and sustainability.

The name “Quequezques” comes from an indigenous name for a broad-leafed plant which grows in these mountain altitudes. It’s a fitting connection between the Delgado family’s business and the land, which with its rich volcanic soil (and temperate microclimate) is generous towards the production of beautiful coffee. And, of course, where coffee is grown in the gentle shade of native forests.

Several varieties, including many heirloom coffees, are grown here under a canopy of shade trees, guided by an agroforestry system established to provide resiliency to shifting climatic patterns and enhance soil richness. Grown in balance with nature, coffee production is not only more reliable, but quality and flavor attributes are also enhanced.

Café Orgánico Marcala Sociedad Anónima (COMSA) is a thought leader for Central American cooperatives and organic coffee production. In addition to serving their now 1,200+ members, COMSA’s multiple projects teach organic farming practices, produce affordable organic inputs and positively impact their communities through social projects.

Roast Level: Dark
Tasting Notes: Dark Toffee, Blackcurrant, Rye

Varieties: Catuai, Caturra, Lempira, Pacas
Growing Altitude: 1,300 - 1,500 masl
Processing Method: Fully Washed

COMSA is focused on sustainable, organic agriculture. Their training structure both disseminates knowledge and puts a focus on experimentation and innovation, building a cooperative membership that strongly believes in and practices sustainable agriculture.

Many member farmers create experimental plots for trialing new techniques and tailoring organic inputs to their specific needs. COMSA also supports members in building processing infrastructure to make value addition through quality processing more accessible to their members.

In 2019, COMSA started a recycling plant that collects recyclable materials from 44 educational centers in Marcala. Any non-recyclable materials are incinerated to prevent pollution.

COMSA also supports beekeeping as a source of income diversification and natural medicine for coop members.

When COMSA purchased Finca La Fortaleza, the land was abandoned. Under their care, La Fortaleza became a model farm for COMSA members as well as a grassroots training facility for cooperatives across Honduras and beyond. The farm includes space for farmer trainings and classes, and their on-site cabins host everyone from eco-tourists to NGO workers to field technicians from other cooperatives.

In addition to the farm’s training center, COMSA produces organic fertilizers, pesticides and foliant sprays on-site at Finca La Fortaleza. They also cultivate all kinds of vegetables and herbs in the farm’s garden, mainly for use in natural medicines.

COMSA’s leaders recognized that in order to change their future, they need to invest in today's youngest generations. In 2017, COMSA purchased a failing private school next door to their wet mill in Marcala and founded their international school.

Most students are the children of cooperative members or coffee farm laborers, and an impressive 80 to 90% of students are on scholarships. A school bus transports children to and from school daily. Students range in age from 6 months to 17 years.

Another remarkable aspect of the school is its progressive teaching principles. Teaching practices draw from a variety of educational philosophies including Montessori principles and the Doman method (a groundbreaking method for teaching students with learning disabilities). Classes are dual language and all students learn Spanish and English.