What is a fly crop in coffee?

A fly crop - also called a secondary crop - is the smaller additional harvest that occurs in certain regions outside the main annual season. It's most associated with Kenya, where it typically falls between April and June, distinct from the main harvest peaking October to February.

The fly crop is smaller in volume and sometimes lower in quality than the main crop, though this varies by farm and season. For Kenyan specialty buyers, fly crop lots appear occasionally on importer offer lists but represent a fraction of total annual volume.

The origin of the name is genuinely unclear - the most cited explanation, that the harvest is so sparse a fly could pick it, may well be apocryphal. Whatever its etymology, if you see "fly crop Kenya" on an offer, you're looking at mid-year availability from a secondary harvest rather than the main picking season.