Gourmet

Spring Valley Coffee was established in 2009 in the Nairobi neighborhood that shares its name, an area historically renowned for its coffee estates, making it Kenya's original specialty coffee roaster and a pioneer in a country whose beans had long been exported rather than celebrated at home. Ritesh Doshi, who had previously founded and sold Naked Pizza Kenya to Pizza Hut, acquired the company in March 2018 and transformed it into Africa's first B Corporation certified coffee roastery, earning an overall score of 83.8 against a median of 50.9 for ordinary businesses and embedding ethical standards into every level of the operation. The roastery sources directly from farmers across Kenya's diverse growing regions including Mt. Elgon, Kipkelion, and Rongo, roasting six distinct coffees that reflect the terroir of each origin, and is credited with introducing the flat white to Kenya's coffee culture. Over seven million cups of Spring Valley coffee were brewed in 2023 across a network of nine company owned specialty cafes and more than 230 hotels, restaurants, and cafes that serve and sell the brand, a reach that has made the roastery synonymous with Kenyan specialty coffee. Spring Valley pays its 88 employees 25 to 30 percent above industry standard and provides healthcare coverage for workers and their families, and is now expanding internationally with a London location that will bring Kenyan roasted specialty coffee directly to a European audience.