Out of Africa, Into Your Cup: The Living History of the Coffee Garden
When you sit down to enjoy a freshly brewed cup of coffee at the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden, you are not just enjoying a beautifully crafted beverage; you are taking a seat in one of Nairobi’s
most significant historical landmarks.
Long before the bustling city of Nairobi reached the leafy suburbs of Karen, our estate was the epicenter of pioneering agricultural dreams and legendary safari tales. At the heart of our
property stands the Historic Swedo House. Built between 1906 and 1908, it originally served as a hunting lodge and farmhouse surrounded by vast indigenous forests. In fact, President
Theodore Roosevelt even hunted from the Swedo House during his famed 1908 East African expedition!
The Birth of a Coffee Legacy The story of our coffee roots began when Aake Sorgren (the Swedish Consul in British East Africa) and Sir Northrup MacMillan formed the Swedo-African
Coffee Company right from this very house. However, the estate’s most famous chapter began in 1913, when Baron Bror Blixen purchased the property for his wife, Karen Blixen. The Swedo
House served as the farm manager’s residence and became a central hub for the famous author (who wrote under the pen name Isak Dinesen) and her brother, Thomas Dinesen, who
oversaw the pl antation until 1931.
Preserving the Past Today, the Swedo House stands as a rare and pristine example of Kenya’s “first generation” of colonial residential architecture. Unlike later stone structures, this historic
gem was built on raised stilts to protect against termites, featuring corrugated iron walls lined with cozy interior wood, and railed verandas with arched roof supports. We take immense pride in preserving this heritage. As you wander the grounds today, from the meticulously restored Swedo House to Hattons Lounge—named in honor of Karen Blixen’s lover, Denys Finch Hatton—you can still feel the echoes of the Out of Africa era. The next time you visit us, we invite you to take a moment to explore the Swedo House, admire the historical portraits, and soak in the timeless elegance that started it all.
