Evan HoweIn Photos: Thamani

Last June, Evan travelled to Kenya with photographer Jake Ingle to spend a few days with our Thamani partners. As delicious coffees from Passenger’s newest Foundational partnership join the menu, we hope you enjoy these images that Jake captured during a memorable week in Embu.

Kamavindi

Kamavindi, owned and operated by the Mbature family, is both a coffee farm and a sourcing and export operation (Kamavindi Coffee Lab). Peter Mbature and his siblings are the third generation to produce coffee on their family’s estate. Passenger’s relationship with Peter goes back to 2020, and we are incredibly proud to launch the Thamani Foundational partnership in close collaboration with the Kamavindi team. The coffee that Passenger selected to feature as the inaugural Thamani Foundational lot is a mouthwatering field blend produced by Peter and his family at Kamavindi estate.

Peter Mbature

Left to right: Anne Mbature, Mercy Mbature, Liz Mbature, Peter Mbature, Gladys Mwaniki, Gladwell Mbature, Chilumo Ringa

Kambarare

While we expect estate coffees produced by the Mbature family to remain an important part of the Thamani menu in the years to come, Passenger will also continue to invest in other notable Kenyan producers with Kamavindi Coffee Lab’s essential support. Gerald Njagi, proprietor of the legendary Kambarare Estate, is one of those producers. Gerald is an ambitious, highly dedicated coffee farmer who has produced some of the finest SL variety separations that we have tasted in recent years. It is a huge pleasure to collaborate with Gerald and a privilege to roast his exceptional coffees.

Gerald Njagi

Oneska

Oneska is another private estate that we were introduced to by our partners at Kamavindi Coffee Lab. Located on the slopes of Mount Kenya in Embu County, Oneska is a family-run coffee farm established in the early 1990s by Onesmus Njagi and his spouse, Karen. The estate takes its name from a combination of the couple's first names—Ones(mus) and Ka(ren). Prior to becoming a coffee producer, Onesmus had a long career as a teacher in one of the local schools and he remains a born performer. Passenger’s first purchase from Oneska - a sweet and complex microlot produced as a part of the ‘Retro 1984’ project - was shared on the Reserve Lot menu earlier this year. We hope it will be the first of many more in the years to come.

Onesmus Njagi