CHICAGO, IL (WBBM Newsradio) – In 2014, Martha Itulya-Omollo and husband Leecox Omollo founded Kikwetu Kenya Coffee Company in Chicago, with the tag line ‘Kenya-born, Chicago-made’. For Martha, the vision for Kikwetu began long ago inside the Kenyan government run coffee houses of Nairobi.
“I spent a lot of time in the Nairobi cafés and coffee shops with my parents, just sitting there, listening to the hum of the coffee grinders and smelling the coffee, just seeing the community that came together,” said Martha, “There was a lot of connection, a lot of slowing down, a lot of people just hanging out.”
That sense of community would shape Kikwetu’s mission of maintaining human connection while bringing Kenyan hospitality and coffee to the world. Customers and non-customers alike will always find a seating area adjacent to the Kikwetu Kenya Coffee Company booths found at farmers markets across Chicago, meant for people to sit, take their time, relax, and engage in conversation.
The Omollo’s loyalty to community and human connection includes sourcing a Chicago local roaster, “We work with our roaster partner to create recipes that really showcase the nuances, flavors, and characteristics of Kenyan coffee that it’s known for around the world,” said Martha.
With the Kenyan coffee bean trade no longer under control of the government, whereas before the beans would go to auction, Kikwetu Coffee is very intentional about buying directly from small-scale farms in Kenya, farmers who take a great deal of pride in their harvest.
“It’s about that direct connection between the farmers and us,” said Martha, “It empowers them to set their own price. These farmers are the cornerstone of the communities in Kenya, they don’t just grow coffee, they grow subsistence crops, they feed their communities and it was very important for us that they have a voice at the table.”
Sold mostly online through the Kikwetu Kenya Coffee Company website and at local farmers markets, after years of customer demand for more opportunities to drink a great cup of Kenyan coffee, the Omollos are now looking to expand their catering service. “We are hoping to start pushing that out and getting a lot more people looking to book our coffee services at their events, in their office spaces, and just continuing that relationship with them,” said Martha.
Kenyans don’t really drink much coffee, preferring tea, according to Martha. For her, it would complete the circle if the Kikwetu brand were able to popularize coffee in the country where she, her husband, and the beans they sell originate from.
“Most importantly for me, I really want to elevate Kenyan coffee on the global stage. I feel that while it’s some of the best quality coffee in the world, I don’t know that everybody yet knowns that. And so, that’s my goal, to make sure that people really truly understand just what it is that Kenya brings when it comes to coffee,” said Martha.
Kikwetu Kenya Coffee Company is a family-owned local small business with a global footprint, “A journey for us between two places that really shaped me in particular and my husband as well and that is Kenya where we were born and raised and Chicago where we made our lives,” adds Martha.
