Kenyan coffees have consistently been some of our favorites because of their punchy acidity and juiciness. Back again this year, Thirikwa will leave you impressed with the region’s unique flavor profile.  The History of Coffee in Kenya Although Ethiopia is believed to be the region from which coffee originated, Kenya didn’t begin to grow and cultivate the crop until 1893. Through a complicated and difficult history of British colonization and wars, it wasn’t until after 1960 that some Africans were allowed to grow coffee but still had major restrictions put on them. Thankfully after many reforms, coffee growers in Kenya have...

Who has stress? Who thinks they can manage stress on their own? These are the questions that prompted Ferris to look into better options for their employees and families. The average American worker will spend a third of their life at work so it’s no surprise that work-life can bleed into home-life and vice-versa. With mental health becoming the No. 1 public health concern, companies have begun to seek out better ways to support their employees beyond the paycheck. When it comes to happiness in the workplace, recent studies have highlighted the most pressing issues and how to overcome them as...

One of the most frequently asked questions that we get at Ferris is “What is the strongest coffee you have?” There isn’t really a simple answer to this question, therefore let me give you an explanation of some stuff first… Written by Sam Mirto, VP of Coffee Operations When we talk about strength in our coffee, what we’re actually referring to is the Total Dissolved Solids that have been incorporated into the solution (coffee) as a result of brewing. This gets complicated so I won’t go too in depth, but suffice to say that an ideal TDS percentage is in the...

Every coffee farm and mill, no matter where you are in the world, will have their own way of doing things—whether that be growing, processing, or distributing. In Ethiopia, though, many of the farms are so small that they don't have enough money or crop to produce large amounts of coffee. Instead of working on their own, these farms work with co-ops. The basic system here is that these small farms grow coffee and deliver the cherries to washing stations, which are owned by co-ops, to be processed.