Best Tea And Coffee Plantations To Visit Around Nairobi

Here is a list of the best tea and coffee plantations to visit around Nairobi. Kenya is the world’s 15th-largest producer of coffee and the 3rd-largest producer of tea. The majority of Kenyan coffee and tea farms are located at elevations of 6,000 feet or higher, producing coffees with fruity, spicy, and more acidic flavour notes, as well as teas with low bitterness and very robust flavours.

Fortunately, many of the best Kenyan coffee and tea farms that offer tours are close to Nairobi, making it easy for tourists to visit for a half-day. Below are the best tea and coffee plantations to visit around Nairobi.

Best Tea And Coffee Plantations To Visit Around Nairobi

1. Gathoni Sensory Garden & Tea Farm

Gathoni Tea Farm is located along Limuru Road, less than 1 km from St. Paul’s University’s main gate. Gathoni Tea Farm is a world of tranquillity, aroma, and flavour. Gathoni Farm is popularly known for hosting both Naishola and Naiposha Gardens. Visiting Gathoni Tea Farm, you’ll learn the art of tea cultivation, processing, and tasting. You will also get the opportunity to go on a Sensory Garden Tour.

Leave Nairobi behind for an ideal day in the lush green tea fields of Gathoni Farm. This is one of Kenya’s oldest tea farms. It is a picturesque tea farm that transports visitors into an idyllic realm of nature’s splendour. The experience begins at 10 am with the host giving an informal history of Gathoni Farm, followed by an introduction to the later tea tasting before you head out to the tea farm.

Next, step outside to see for yourself the deep green rows of tea growing in the fields. While at the farm, guests are taught how to pick tea, after which they pick some Kenyan tea. Some of the tea will then be taken back to the farmhouse, where you will be taught how to make your own speciality, orthodox tea, which includes learning to roast it, roll it by hand, dry it, and then pack it for themselves. After strolling through the lovely gardens surrounding the main house, guests are treated to an expansive tea tasting of all the delicious herbal variants made at Gathoni Tea Farm Kitchen, including their luxurious tea line. The tea is all freshly made and prepared, farm-to-table style. The tea is served with homemade biscuits.

Booking is essential; the cost (Sensory Garden & Tea Farm Tour) is Kshs 1,800 per person, all-inclusive.

Contact: 0715 299 525

2. Kiambethu Tea Farm, Limuru

Kiambethu Farm at Limuru provides a tranquil insight into life on a settler farm. They offer tours from Thursday to Sunday each week, starting at 11 am. Come and enjoy a lunchtime tour of the farm with Fiona. Arrive at 11 am and over a cup of tea or coffee, the farm’s history and process of making tea are informally explained, followed by an opportunity to see tea in the field. Then continue with a walk to a nearby indigenous forest with the resident Kenyan guide, who will be pointing out the plants and explaining how they are used traditionally. Colobus monkeys live in this place and wander in the gardens, so you might have a chance to see them. Take a stroll back to the house and enjoy a pre-lunch drink on the veranda with a wide view across the tea fields to the Ngong Hills. A three-course lunch menu is prepared from produce coming from the garden.

Booking is essential; it costs Ksh 4,200. Includes: a farm tour, lunch, tea or drinks, and a short forest walk. Children under 12 pay half the price.

Contact: 0729 290 894

3. Fairview Coffee Estate, Limuru

One of the best-known Kenyan coffee farms is Fairview Estates. It’s one of the closest Kenyan coffee tours to Nairobi, about 25 minutes outside the city. Tours are offered twice daily (10 am and 2 pm) and last about two hours, including a post-tour tasting of a few of the most popular blends. Guests are encouraged to bring snacks or lunch for a picnic on the grounds, though it’s also possible to order a packed lunch in advance for Kshs 1000 (around $9). Reservations for tours are recommended but not essential.

Fairview is one of the larger Kenyan coffee estates in the country, with 100 acres of coffee beans planted in an average season. During harvest season (usually October or November), the farm hires up to 400 people to help harvest, prune, and sort beans. The farm also has plenty of non-coffee lands, including trails for birdwatching and forest walks, a large dairy area, and a coffee shop where guests can grab a coffee to go or pick up bags of their favourite beans. Coffee by the bag starts at about $10.

The tour costs Ksh 1,000 and includes a farm tour, coffee tasting, snacks, and a short waterfall walk.

Contact: 0774 472756

4. Gatura Greens Purple Tea Tour

Gatura Greens, Kenya’s first purple tea farm, offers more than just a tea tour. Guests get a lesson on how to hand-pick tea before picking their leaves, which they’ll then learn to prepare and brew. Purple tea is rare, and nearly all of it comes from Kenya. Gatura Green’s founder first planted tea in 1959 as one of the first Kenyans allowed to grow the plant. His son, the current owner’s father, worked with a public/private co-op that isolated the genes for purple tea and eventually planted purple tea across most of the farm. Today, his children are on the farm with a rentable country house, camping land, and a trail through the forest to a large waterfall and swimming hole.

Visitors to the Kenyan tea farm can rent the 12-person coun favourite (which includes unlimited tea, of course) for $250 a night or camp on the farm for a reasonable $15 a night. Tours are an all-day affair, starting at 9:30 AM with the tea-picking lessons before moving to the main house to roll and pack the teas. Once the day warms up, it’s off for a quick hike to the waterfall for a leisurely swim before returning to the farm for a three-course lunch. After lunch, it’s time for a tea tasting, after which guests can stay as long as they like, right up through the evening bonfire.

Tours are $35 per person and should be booked in advance. This includes a farm tour, tea picking, rolling, roasting, tasting, lunch, drinks, and a short waterfall hike.

Note: The farm is about an hour from Nairobi, and Gatura Greens can arrange transportation at an extra cost.

Contact:  +254 703 988 795 

Email: bookings@gaturagreens.com

5. Karunguru coffee estate

The land that would become the Karunguru Coffee Estate was first planted with coffee beans in 1928 by British transplants. But in 1978, it was purchased by the Kariithi family, which still runs and operates the Kenyan coffee farm. Today, Karunguru covers 500 acres, producing only Arabica single-origin coffee. All aspects of production are on site, from drying and roasting to grinding and packaging the final product.

Tours are offered daily from 11 am to 4 pm, except for Sundays and Mondays. The tour experience includes a short intro to making coffee, a tour of all aspects of the farm, from the fields to packaging, and a picnic lunch with locally grown veggies in the farm gardens (or a formal ballroom if the weather doesn’t cooperate). Oh, and there’s a coffee tasting after lunch, naturally.

There’s also an on-site store with very reasonably priced bags of home-grown Kenyan coffee, starting at around $4.50. The farm is about 20 minutes from Nairobi and reservations are required for tours, which cost $15 and include a farm tour, coffee tasting and snacks.

Contact: 0112 924050

6. Tigoni Tea Farm

On the outskirts of Nairobi, enjoy the peacefulness of the beautiful tea region of the Tigoni area. From dusty, small towns to endless fields of shiny green tea leaves as far as the eye can see, Tigoni tea farms offer stunning views of Kenyan tea on both sides of the road. Enjoy an endless expanse of fantastic scenery. The area offers other activities such as easy hikes and lovely walks through tea farms, as well as man-made lakes in the area.

7. Tatu City Coffee Estate

This coffee estate is located in Kiambu, about 30 minutes from Nairobi. It is one of the largest coffee estates in Kenya and produces a variety of high-quality coffee beans. It covers an area of approximately 4,000 acres and is part of the larger Tatu City development, which is a planned mixed-use urban development located approximately 15 kilometres northeast of Nairobi.

The Tatu City Coffee Estate was established in 2015 to produce high-quality coffee for export. The estate grows various types of coffee, including Arabica and Robusta, and employs sustainable farming practices to ensure that the coffee is of the highest quality. In addition to coffee farming, the estate also houses a wet mill and a dry mill, which are used for processing coffee beans. The coffee produced at the Tatu City Coffee Estate is sold under the brand name Tatu Kahawa, which means “Tatu Coffee” in Swahili. The coffee is marketed as a premium product, with a focus on its unique flavour profile and sustainable production methods. Visitors can tour the estate, learn about the coffee-making process, and taste the estate’s coffee.

Contact: 0708 555 555