From the slopes of Mt. Kenya through the Rift Valley to the shores of Lake Victoria, the Kenyan coffee farmers patiently nurture coffee trees that produce some of the world’s best coffee beans. These farmers, most of whom own small plantations of less than 4.5 hectares, pick only the ripe coffee cherries in a series of seven pickings to ensure excellent quality. The finest beans, graded AA, are sold at weekly auctions run by the Coffee Board of Kenya … nothing but the best price for the best coffee ensures these growers get what they deserve, and they deserve the best.

Most coffee professionals will cite Kenya as one of their top three origins, and more than any other origin; many will list it as their favorite. This is for many reasons: carefully selected cultivars, meticulous growing and processing practices, and a unique system of trade based on auctions managed by the central government that inherently rewards high quality with high prices.

If Antigua coffee is the high-altitude coffee’s Mecca in terms of bright, floral and spirited coffees, Kenya is its equal - or better - by way of its sophistication. Kenya has a manicured and polished personality that is regal, royal - even highly cultured - yet at the same time you sense a barely tamed wildness.