Why Exploration, Adventure, and Coffee?
If I cast my mind back, I think the first book I ever read was a map book, on a family road trip through the Karoo in central South Africa. Then in 1996 I received one of my most cherished gifts: a wildlife photography book by Lex Hess. Looking back on those early days, these experiences formed the basis of a lifetime of exploration, what is now an entire collection of leather-bound journals and tattered maps, and an unending passion to capture the perfect photograph in some of the remotest places on the planet.
Over the years I have heard people mention that exploration can be defined as “Curiosity Acted Upon”, but I would add that for many this curiosity is truly “In our DNA”. Something within us that causes a restlessness, a constant pursuit for new routes along a river’s course or discovering a previously unknown species. Though both of these facets contribute to our story, neither of them completely explains it. To fully understand the story of Blending Curiosity and the founding of The Explorers Collection, you need to take a moment and join us for a fireside coffee on the banks of the lungs of Africa: the resplendent Okavango Delta.
The sound of a crackling hardwood fire fills the air, harmonized with the occasional clinking of our mugs as we pour our coffee from the old, dented, enamel camping kettle. In the background, the lapping of the water on our mokoro’s and the night silence are interrupted by the distant roars of a lion. This expedition marked a decade of us managing unique expeditions, humanitarian projects, conducting environmental research, and assisting community groups.
Some of our team have been with us since day one. We are a motley bunch and from some reason we seem to always find our way to back together. If you were to ask us to describe one another we would possibly say we are the sum of all parts: a barefoot cameraman, a friendly red-bearded giant, a directionless navigator, a persistent angler, and an attentive leader.
On this specific evening, the topic of our fireside chat drifted between the Series II Land Rover we rebuilt in Zambia, to chasing waterfalls in Central Africa, mapping the remote coastline, relocating lions, distributing reading glasses, sampling the last pristine rivers on the continent, and managing projects in the polar regions. With smiles on our faces, we stoke the fire, and it seems to take a deep sigh as embers float off into the night sky. As the fire takes its second breath we are faced with a discussion around the next chapter of our adventures and how to not only keep exploring, but to keep giving back and inspiring curiosity in others, all the while keeping our community projects and Mobile Classrooms Workshops on the go.
This conversation continued for the remainder of the week around campfires, across the two-way radios, and while trying to catch the perfect tiger fish. If I recall correctly, Hemmingway said all of the world’s problems can be solved in one night on the African continent and all you need is an open mind and good company. Now sitting in my library paging through journals, making notes, and planning our next expedition, I find a note scribbled into the margin of a page.
“Why not build a brand on something you know…. Explorers and Coffee”
This simple comment I scribed down in the journal, and these two simple words: “Explorers” and “Coffee”, set us on a journey of discovery that would rival any expedition we have planned to date. Exploration is something we know a lot about, and coffee is something we enjoy heartily – and is a standard on every expedition packing list. Now the task was to apply this knowledge and experience to make something worthwhile, itself an adventure of chance meetings, referrals, meetings in cities, to flights into the heartland of Zambia, oh-so-many emails, consultations, and sessions with my mentors over a two year period.
We now find ourselves launching a bespoke coffee brand, built around things we know best: explorers and exploration – but always with the curiosity to learn more about the coffee process as we invite you to join us on this journey.
At our core we are a coffee brand inspired by the golden age of exploration and great friends of modern-day exploration. But we are more than the past and the present: living up to our slogan of “Blending Curiosity” we have started a “Curiosity Fund” aimed at enabling the next generation to follow their dreams through our grants program and humanitarian work.
We invite you to join our journey as we launch The Explorers Collection.
Sending you off on your next adventure, coffee in hand.
John & Team
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