Good East African coffee grows high. Every lot we roast comes from the Kenyan highlands: Elgeyo Marakwet, Nyeri, Murang'a. More mountains will follow. Scroll down the mountain and meet the coffee on its way to Calgary.
Our coffee is grown by farmers across East Africa. We work directly with farmers and producers to bring it here, then roast it in small batches in Calgary.
They grow some of the best coffee in the world, and we think they deserve the credit for it.
0°53′N 35°28′ETastes like pineapple and brown sugar, ripe and sweet.
The whole crop is picked and sorted by hand, by the family. The cherry dries whole in the sun, six hours a day, for about three weeks.
0°34′S 37°00′ETastes like stone fruit and black tea, deep and clean.
Absolutely delicious! This makes a lovely balanced yet interesting cup of coffee.. relatively bright but with some slightly darker undertones. Highly recommend
0°44′S 36°57′ETastes like molasses and toffee with a squeeze of orange and a hint of cola, bright and clean.
From here the coffee travels to the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, then northwest on a great-circle bearing of 340°, to be roasted in small batches in Calgary.
Safari 97 is a family-owned coffee company in Calgary, run by two brothers, Joe and Shem. The 97 is the year we arrived in Canada: eight suitcases between four of us.
For most of our lives, coffee was caffeine. The discovery came on a trip back to Kenya: it could actually taste good. Naturally sweet, with more flavour than we knew the drink could hold. Now we roast that coffee here, in small batches.
The compass on our mark points 340°: the great-circle bearing from Nairobi to Calgary. One end is where the coffee is grown. The other is where it lands. The orange dot in the middle is the sun, or a bean, or wherever we happen to be standing at the time.
We're glad you found us.
Joe & Shem
Pick a coffee and a rhythm. We roast in small batches, rest each one for several days, and send it once it's ready.
Anywhere people gather around coffee is one more stop. Tell us about your place, your crowd, or your cause. Joe or Shem will write back.
