Alfred Gitau Mwaura: Founder of the Barista Coffee Association and the First Coffee Skills Open University in Kenya
Alfred Gitau Mwaura — widely known in the Kenyan coffee sector as “Alfy” — continues to shape the country’s coffee future through bold, people-centered innovations. As the founder of the Kenya Coffee School, GOOD Trade Certification, Barista Mtaani Movement, and the pioneering 4A Coffee Roaster, Alfy has positioned himself at the center of Kenya’s coffee renaissance. Among his most transformative achievements is the establishment of the Barista Coffee Association and the development of Kenya’s first Coffee Skills Open University, a visionary learning model designed to democratize coffee education.
Founding the Barista Coffee Association
Driven by the need to professionalize Kenya’s fast-growing café culture, Alfred Gitau founded the Barista Coffee Association (BCA) to unite baristas, trainers, roasters, and café entrepreneurs under a single professional body.
The Association serves several key roles:
- Standard-setting for barista skills and specialty coffee service.
- Professional membership community for baristas across Kenya and East Africa.
- Certifications and competitions that grow visibility for young talent.
- Advocacy for better wages, dignity of work, and career pathways for the thousands of Kenyan youth working in coffee shops.
Under Alfy’s leadership, BCA has grown into a grassroots-powered movement championing baristas as essential actors in the coffee value chain — not just service workers but cultural ambassadors, sensory experts, and market influencers.
Building the First Coffee Skills Open University
In response to the demand for accessible, modern coffee training, Alfred Gitau launched the Coffee Skills Open University, an initiative under the Kenya Coffee School that creates Africa’s first open, flexible, modular coffee education system.
The Coffee Skills Open University offers:
- Open-access digital learning for any youth passionate about coffee.
- Hands-on practical labs at Kenya Coffee School campuses.
- Modular micro-credentials in barista skills, roasting, sensory science, cupping, café entrepreneurship, and sustainability.
- Community-based learning hubs through Barista Mtaani networks.
- Certification tracks aligned to global standards, yet adapted to African realities.
Its mission is clear: make world-class coffee education affordable, accessible, and locally relevant.
A Vision for Kenya’s Coffee Future
Alfred Gitau’s work is united by one core belief — coffee can transform communities when youth are empowered with skills, technology, and opportunity.
Through the Barista Coffee Association and the Coffee Skills Open University, he is building:
- A national talent pipeline for specialty coffee.
- A platform for Kenya to export not only beans, but expertise.
- A youth-driven engine for innovation in the value chain.
Today, Alfred Gitau Mwaura stands recognized as one of Kenya’s most influential coffee leaders, a tireless activist for farmer-centered trade systems, and an educator committed to enabling the next generation of baristas, roasters, and coffee entrepreneurs.