Origin, processing, grades, and varieties everything that makes VOLQ coffee exceptional.
Ancient volcanic activity created the mineral rich soils
That makes Kenya’s Arabica uniquely exceptional at altitude.
COFFEE REGIONS
We source exclusively from smallholder cooperative members across four districts. Each region contributes a distinct personality, and every bag is traceable to its cooperative and washing station.
Southern slopes of Mt. Kenya. Global benchmark for brightness intense acidity, red berry, citrus florals. 1,700–2,000m.
Volcanic red soils and a double rainy season produce complex, wine like cups with exceptional sweetness. 1,600–1,900m.
Full-bodied, chocolatey profiles with lower acidity. A natural complement across our roasted lineup. 1,500–1,800m.
Eastern slopes of Mt. Kenya. Distinctive spice and stone fruit character from the drier, higher altitude terrain. Emerging specialty origin. 1,600–2,000m.
“The same volcanic soil.
Three distinct expressions.”
Coffee Grades
Kenyan green coffee is graded by screen size. Each grade has distinct characteristics that influence flavour, density, and brewing behaviour.
Screen 17–18 · The Premium Grade
| BLACKCURRANT | JASMINE | BRIGHT CITRUS | RED BERRY
Best brewed: Pour over, filter, aeropress. Rewards clean methods that preserve acidity and clarity.
Screen 15–16 · The Versatile Grade
| DARK CHOCOLATE | STONE FRUIT | BROWN SUGAR | CARAMEL
Best brewed: Espresso, Moka pot, filter. Versatile across brewing methods.
Peaberry · The Rare Single
| INTENSE FLORAL | WILD BERRY | CITRUS ZEST | COMPLEX
Best brewed: Pour over, Chemex, Aeropress. Precision methods reveal concentrated complexity.
Kenyan Coffee Varieties
Kenya grows several distinct Arabica varieties, each selected or bred for specific climate, disease resistance, and cup quality characteristics.
Scott Laboratories 1931
The gold standard of Kenyan coffee. Deep blackcurrant, tomato, and stone fruit. Low yield but exceptional cup quality. Found primarily in Nyeri and Kirinyaga.
Scott Laboratories 1931
DROUGHT TOLERANT | COMLEX CUP
Screen 15–16 · The Versatile Grade
Performs better in higher rainfall areas. Heavier body with deep fruit and chocolate notes. Common across all three of our source regions.
Scott Laboratories 1935
RAIN TOLERANT | HEAVY BODY
Peaberry · The Rare Single
Bred for resistance to Coffee Berry Disease and Leaf Rust. Higher yielding than SL varieties. Important for farm sustainability.
CRS 1985
DISEASE RESISTANT | HIGH YIELD
Peaberry · The Rare Single
Newest high-quality Kenyan variety combining disease resistance with cup quality approaching the SL varieties. Named after Batian Peak, the highest point of Mt. Kenya.
CRF 2010
MODERN HYBRID | HIGH QUALITY
FARM CUP TO JOURNEY
Every cup of VOLQ coffee travels through six intentional hands before it reaches yours. Transparent, traceable, and uncompromising at every stage.
Step 01
Smallholder farmers tend Arabica trees on the mineral rich volcanic slopes of Kenya’s Central Highlands. The altitude, double rainy seasons, and volcanic red soils create the conditions for coffees that cannot be replicated anywhere else on earth.
1,500–2,000m altitude across four regions.
Varieties: SL28, SL34, Ruiru 11, Batian.
Volcanic red soils: High iron, exceptional drainage
Step 02
No mechanical stripping. Pickers select only perfectly ripe red cherries in multiple passes through the same tree, ensuring only peak-sugar fruit enters the processing chain. This labour-intensive approach is what separates specialty from commodity.
Selective hand-picking ripe cherries only.
Multiple passes over 6–8 week harvest window.
Main crop (Oct–Dec) and fly crop (Apr–Jun)
Step 03
At cooperative washing stations, cherries are pulped, fermented, washed, and dried on raised African beds. The processing method washed, natural, or honey shapes the cup’s character as much as any other variable in the chain.
Washed — clean, bright, terroir-forward. Cherries pulped same-day, fermented 24–72 hours, washed clean, dried 10–21 days on raised beds. Produces the clean, bright, high-acidity cup Kenya is world-famous for.
Natural — fruity, complex, seasonal lot. Whole cherries dried on raised beds 3–5 weeks before hulling. Fruit sugars ferment into the bean producing a fuller, fruitier cup with lower acidity and complex sweetness.
Honey — balanced, partial mucilage. Partial mucilage left on bean before drying. The sticky layer ferments slowly 2–4 weeks. Sits between washed and natural: medium body, sweetness, and acidity clarity in balance.
Step 04
Every lot is evaluated blind by a Q Grader certified evaluator against the full SCA cupping protocol. No exceptions. Any lot scoring below 84 points does not proceed. This is the gate that protects the quality promise from farm all the way to export.
SCA cupping protocol — blind evaluation.
Minimum 84 points — specialty grade threshold.
Sub-threshold lots rejected without exception
Step 05
In our Nairobi roastery, each lot is roasted in small batches to a bespoke profile developed for its specific origin character. The roast amplifies what is already there it does not mask or override. Each SKU is calibrated to a distinct expression of the same Kenyan Arabica.
Highlands — medium, signature blackcurrant body.
Nguvu — medium-dark, full caramel richness.
Profile developed per-lot, per-origin.
Step 06
Delivered within days of roasting, every pack is traceable to its cooperative of origin, harvest season, and processing method. The cup in your hand is the end of a chain that began in the volcanic highlands and you can follow every link of it.
250g packs — roasted to order where possible.
Lot traceable to cooperative, region, and season.
Nairobi delivery or global export
Freshly roasted coffee crafted to turn every morning into a ritual!
Volq Coffee © 2026 Powered by Restart Technologies
Volq Coffee © 2026 Powered by Restart Technologies
