Kenya Privam Estate

Farmlevel Story

Rita and Patrick Mukundi founded Privam Estate in 2012, cultivating SL-28, Batian, and Ruiru varieties in Embu County, Kenya, just two kilometers from the eastern slopes of Mount Kenya. The plants thrive in rich volcanic soils, nurtured by a dedicated team committed to innovation and quality. 

While most Kenyan coffee farmers are able to acquire only 1-2 acres of land, for over a decade, the Mukundi family has been focused on building up their 23 acre estate. Believing quality can be done at scale, they insist on taking full control of their entire coffee cycle to maximize value. 

In a stark contrast to the former days when Kenyan coffee was grown under restrictive colonial conditions, the family continuously draws upon their industry connections to ensure they are on the forefront of growing, processing, and quality control practices. Investing in sustainability, they hire staff agronomists to ensure tree health. Their estate is a resilient polyculture with coffee growing alongside companion crops like corn, banana, sweet potato, and avocados. Stewards of the land, they avoid herbicide use, keeping soil microbiology intact. These decisions culminate in positive impacts. Unlike national coffee production volume, which has declined for several years, their production has been relatively stable. 

Rather than selling their cherry to cooperatives, they “double wash” process at their own facilities. “Double washing” is laborious and logistically tricky, as there are more moving parts that must be attended to. However, the result is an extra-vibrant, ultra-clean parchment that is laid to dry on raised drying beds. While Kenyan coffee is more expensive than coffee from other countries, they passionately ensure their quality lives up to the price it commands.