Our Coffee
Our coffee comes from various smallholder farmers belonging to the several Cooperative Societies who deliver to the small wet mills in the Mt. Kenya region (locally known as a ‘factory’). These wet mills are located within 5-10 radius kilometers of grower farms.
The Mount Kenya area has deep, well drained and fertile red volcanic soil at altitudes of 1,500+ metres above sea level with around 1,400mm of rainfall annually. Smallholder members of this factory have access to training and technical advice in an effort to increase yields.
The main varieties of coffee grown here is SL34 and Ruiru 11, with SL34 accounting for 99% of all coffee production in the area. Most farmers in the area grow tea in addition to coffee, and many (in recent years) have begun farming tea exclusively rather than coffee. Tea is somewhat less demanding to grown and yields regular crops throughout the year.
Coffee farming in this region goes back to the 1950s, but many members of the Cooperative rely on additional economic and agricultural activities for their livelihoods. In addition to producing coffee, most farmers in the area also produce tea, beans maize and other horticultural crops for sale at local markets and for their own tables.
The Coffee Process – The farm to Cup Process
During the harvest, farmers selectively handpick the ripest, reddest cherries. The berries are then delivered to the factories on the same day. Whilst the grower farms are within five to ten kilometer radius of each other , the wet mills are within a 20 kilometer radius.
The farmers deliver to the mills via a variety of methods based on individual volumes and fiscal capabilities. These transportation methods include : motorbikes, wheelbarrows, bicycles, cow carts and the occasional pick-up truck.
The cherries are hand sorted by the farmers prior to pulping. The damaged and under ripe cherries are separated out from the red, ripe lots. The lots are are further defined according to quality. After pulping the coffee is fermented for between 12 to 16 hours after which . the beans are washed in clean, fresh water. This removes all traces of mucilage before being delivered through sorting
channels to dry on raised beds.
During the drying, the parchment coffee is sorted again to remove any discolored or damaged beans. Upon attaining optimal humidity, the parchment is then transported to the local coffee mills for dry milling and grading before it is transported to the warehouse for storage. The coffee is either sold through Nairobi central auction or exported directly to overseas buyers.
Odyssey Ventures founders are a team of passionate natives of these coffee regions who were raised on the proceeds of coffee by small scale farmer parents. We handpicked, sorted and weighed every coffee sack as it was the difference between attending a full school year or missing out a few classes due to lack of school fees.
Our experiences give us the passion to source the best market for the farmers who rely on the proceeds for their children’s education and families’ financial needs. The farmers are passionate about their crop and work hard to ensure that they farm using environmentally sustainable methods as the land also produces their daily source of food.
Let Us Grow Together
Whether you are a boutique cafe or a multi-dimensional roaster, we want to work and grow together. Our goal is to move together with our coffee partners from the very first bag and beyond. Our humble begins have enabled us to understand the effort and hustle that takes to start from the ground up. Let us take this Odyssey together.
Screen Sizing
The AA, AB and other grades used to classify lots in Kenya are an indication of screen size only. They are not any indication of cup quality. The AA grade in Kenya is equivalent to screen size 17 or 18 (17/64 or 18/64 of an inch) used at other origins. AA grades often command higher prices at auction though this grade is no indication of cup quality and an AB lot from a better farm may cup better.