Kenyan woman created the first Black-owned coffee brand being sold at Trader Joe’s

By Christina Santi Published: June 2, 2021

Kenyan woman created the first Black-owned coffee brand being sold at Trader Joe’s

Kahawa 1893 Coffee Founder Margaret Nyamumbo.TWITTER

By: Maximillian Boudreaux

Margaret Nyamumbo, a third-generation coffee farmer, former Wall Street investment banker and Harvard graduate, discovered Kahawa 1893 in 2017. The company was designed to provide consumers with coffee directly from Kenya and empower female African coffee farmers with sustainable wages.

The Face // The Brand pic.twitter.com/E57CdSZGRL

— Margaret Nyamumbo (@maggycoffee) June 13, 2020

“When a consumer buys coffee at Trader Joe’s, they can scan a QR code and send a tip to a farmer’s e-wallet who will receive that money directly. Kahawa 1893 matches all tips to double the impact,” Nyamumbo said in a statement.

The entrepreneur took to Twitter to inform their followers that Kahawa 1893 is the first Black-owned, woman-owned coffee brand hitting their local Trader Joe’s store this month.

pic.twitter.com/W6wg2BR1jN

— Margaret Nyamumbo (@maggycoffee) May 4, 2021

“This is a monumental move forward, not only for us, not only for the women farmers in Africa, but all women and all of the Black community,” Nyamumbo said.

Kahawa 1893 made its debut at 200 Trader Joe’s stores in California and is expected to be sold in other US regions. The coffee blends will feature Kenyan, Peaberry, Serengeti, Ethiopian, Safari, 1893 Expresso, Decaf and Single-Serve coffee.