The Privam Estate

Privam Estate is more than a coffee farm — it’s a family legacy and town center. Founded in 2012 by Patrick and Rita Makundi, this Embu County estate is built on generations of determination, with parcels of land slowly assembled into a 23-acre highland farm overlooking the slopes of Mt. Kenya. Today, it feels more like a vibrant village than a farm, with parents, children, cousins, and neighbors all contributing to the harvest.

 By 2018, the Makundi family had secured their own pulping license and wet mill, granting them the independence to process and market their coffee directly. It’s a bold move in Kenya, a country known for producing some of the world’s most sought-after coffees, yet historically dominated by cooperative systems and fierce competition. 

Kenya’s coffee landscape is evolving. In 2023, long-standing regulations shifted, opening new pathways for farmers to export directly — a system built on trust, traceability, and cup quality. In this changing environment, the Makundi family has emerged as a leader, embracing lot separation, experimental processing, and direct partnerships with exporters and roasters alike. 

Embu, Kenya 

Embu County is located in central Kenya, on the southeastern slopes of Mount Kenya. It’s a lush, fertile region known for its rich volcanic soils, reliable rainfall, and high elevations — ideal conditions for growing some of Kenya’s most distinctive coffee. Elevations in Embu typically range between 1,200 to 2,000 meters above sea level, which contributes to the region’s bright, complex cup profiles.

 While less famous than neighboring Nyeri or Kirinyaga, Embu has quietly produced outstanding coffees for decades. It’s an area of smallholder farms, with most farmers cultivating a few acres of land and relying on cooperatives or private mills to process their harvests. 

The people of Embu County are predominantly from the Embu ethnic group, with deep cultural ties to the land and farming traditions that go back generations. Coffee farming became a major livelihood in the region during Kenya’s colonial period and has remained a vital part of the local economy.

 In recent years, with changes to Kenya’s coffee regulations and the rise of direct trade opportunities, Embu has started gaining more recognition as a source for clean, fruit-forward, and vibrantly acidic coffees — often with notes of blackcurrant, citrus, and florals. 

Embu is a rising star in Kenya’s specialty coffee landscape — rich in history, deeply agrarian, and poised for a new chapter of farmer-led, independent coffee production. 

Privem Estate represents the next chapter of Kenyan coffee — driven by family, fueled by ambition, and energized by a future of greater independence and opportunity.