Founder’s Story

Let’s Disrupt The Coffee Industry

Mukurima was telling stories about how coffee farmers often had to choose between sending their kids to school or working the coffee farms. As disheartening as it is to know these stories, we also knew something could be done about it. We could pave the way towards helping African coffee farmers receive a fairer wage by starting a coffee company that seeks to help solve this universal problem.

Thus, in Jan 2018, the African Coffee Club was born. We purchased our first bag of Ethiopian coffee beans, roasted it right here in Los Angeles, CA and started selling it online. Sales were S-L-O-W out of the gate and continued to be slow our first year. As we continued to promote our coffee and tell our story, we started to see sales pick up.

Now we have hundreds of satisfied customers - both subscribers and those that purchase single bags time and again. The word has begun to spread and we look forward to entering a retail location near you soon. Stay tuned!

My Story

My name is Mukurima Muriuki, I am a second-generation Kenyan coffee farmer who now lives in Los Angeles and founded the African Coffee Club. This is my story.

My grandfather who I am named after and under whose tutelage I grew up, used to share shocking stories of life growing up under a dehumanizing colonial rule. According to colonial policy, Africans were meant to provide free labor in the settlers’ farms and they were not accorded any education.

After attaining independence and freedom-known in Kiswahili language as “Uhuru” Africans finally had access to the land that was once controlled by colonial powers. For the first time, Africans could grow crops like coffee, earn a livelihood, and better their lives. 

Today, sadly, most small-scale coffee farmers are yet to taste the true “Uhuru” of their labor. Despite African coffee being one of the most highly sought after coffees in the world, the farmers do not get a fair share of the market value because the supply chain process is rigged against the farmer. 

I founded the African Coffee Club to correct this humiliating injustice and you are an important partner in this journey because when you buy our coffee, you are helping us disrupt this unjust and outdated supply chain model. At the African Coffee Club, we source our coffee exclusively from cooperatives that share our same values and pay their farmers a living wage.  We proudly offer Kenyan coffee from our friends at Crowd Farm Africa and coffee from the Democratic Republic of Congo from our partners at Mighty Peace Coffee. All of our coffee scores extremely high grade cupping qualities with many being processed entirely by hand. It takes more effort to buy coffee this way and frankly, it is more expensive to do so, but we believe this is the right way to do business. The spiral effect is phenomenal because once farmers put food on the table and educate their children, they, in turn, will make better life choices and help their communities progress.

In Kenya, we call this the spirit of “Harambee” which is a variation of “Ubuntu” meaning I cannot be until you are, and you cannot be until I am. At the African Coffee Club, we believe everyone should receive a living wage. Don't pay it forward, pay it Black!

Fresh-Roasted in LA

All of our coffee is hand-processed in the country of origin, shipped to Los Angeles, CA, and then freshly-roasted and shipped to your home to ensure you have the best flavor possible! Our coffee subscription plans is the perfect way to make sure you never run out of amazing coffee and is an excellent gift idea.

Pay It Black

The majority of coffee consumption happens in industrialized nations. 90% of coffee exports come from developing countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and others. Sadly, only a small fraction- as low as 1%– of the retail price reaches the hands of coffee farmers.