Kenya, Finally!

Today was a momentus day, and no, not because the Giants won the superbowl, but because Josh is on an airplane, as I type these words, flying to Kenya. As I have recounted numerous times this past week, my naive declaration four years ago, which promised that Transcend Coffee would source all of its coffee via direct trade by 2012, is almost a completed goal. You see, Kenya is one of our favorite countries of origin, and yet no one from Transcend has ever been there to source coffee. We knew it was high time, and so, Josh jumped on a plane this afternoon and is making the exhausting trip to Nairobi via Amsterdam tonight (better him than me). It will be a short trip, he is flying back next Sunday. But most importantly, it will be a trip about sourcing some of our favourite coffee, from a country we have yet to estabish any relationships in. I love the varietal SL28, and the unique characteristics it offers in the cup, and there is a lot of SL28 in Kenya.

So, on the eve of Josh flying to Kenya, I thought I would just write a little something letting you know why he is going. It is subscription week, and in honour of the trip to Nairobi, we purchased a little bit of the 2011 Kenya crop, specifically a coffee which we have had in the past, namely Karatina. Karatina is the town in which the mill is located, where Josh will be this week. So while we are fully aware that the Karatina being mailed out this week is past crop, we thought it would be a bit of foreshadow, for what we trust will be a very productive week in Kenya for our Barista Champ / Green Buyer. If you are one of the 170 to receive our monthly coffee subscription, then you will get a taste, if you are not (why not?) then you will want to pop by one of the shops this week and grab a bag. It won't last long!

Safe jouneys Josh, see you next week with samples of our beloved Kenya's.