Coffee Shops in Nairobi
Kenya has grown world-class coffee for over a century and exported almost all of it; now a new generation of Nairobi roasters and cafés is keeping the best beans at home.
Coffee roasters in Nairobi
Jowam Coffee Roasters · Official website
Coffee areas in Nairobi
CBD
Café AMKA, founded by Kenyan entrepreneur Andreen Wangui, anchors the centre with a dark, industrial room wrapped in laser-cut African iconography — a Nairobi coffee shop rather than a globalised version of one.
African Stays — Speciality Coffee Shops of Nairobi
Nairobi Coffee Exchange
The historic auction floor where graders set reference prices for Kenya’s beans; visits can be arranged in advance within working hours, ideally as a small group.
Nairobi Breaks — Nairobi’s Coffee Trail
Riverside
Connect Coffee’s Riverfront location off Riverside Drive is part of a local roaster network that also serves Waiyaki Way, pouring Kenyan lots close to where they are graded.
Beany — Best Specialty Coffee Shops in Nairobi
Spring Valley & Westlands
Spring Valley Coffee serves its Kenyan coffees from the Spring Valley Shopping Centre, Village Market and Westgate, covering the city’s western neighbourhoods.
Beany — Best Specialty Coffee Shops in Nairobi
Gigiri
Shakespeare’s Coffee on Gigiri Road serves the diplomatic quarter near the UN complex, open daily until early evening.
Beany — Best Specialty Coffee Shops in Nairobi
Coffee drinks in Nairobi
Kenyan single-origin pour-over
At AMKA, head barista Kennedy leads a three-course tasting — pour-over, cappuccino, espresso — built on Kenyan lots that once would have been exported.
African Stays — Speciality Coffee Shops of Nairobi
Speciality-grade espresso
Speciality coffee — beans graded above 80 on the Speciality Coffee Association’s 100-point scale — is now served at a growing number of places across the capital.
African Stays — Speciality Coffee Shops of Nairobi
Fresh-auction-lot filter
Nairobi’s roasteries sit a few kilometres from the exchange floor, so the distance between a lot clearing auction and a cup brewed from it can be a matter of weeks.
Nairobi Breaks — Nairobi’s Coffee Trail
Kenyan AA
Connect Coffee Roasters is a local favourite for brewed coffee and beans, showcasing the Kenyan profiles the country built its reputation on.