About Us

The MF Coffee Project is a collaboration between friends and coffee enthusiasts in Malawi and Scotland who believe that the coffee industry can be improved through direct trade and sustainable practices. Currently, the market is dominated by intermediaries and large monopolies, making coffee one of the most traded commodities in the world. This system often sees coffee beans bought and sold numerous times before reaching the consumer, disproportionately benefiting middlemen over farmers and consumers.

Without direct market access, coffee farmers are especially vulnerable to global market fluctuations. Our mission is to bridge the gap between farmers, producers, and consumers, establishing a more direct and equitable system for buying and selling coffee.

**Roasting in Kenya**
This is where we go a step further than most. Rather than shipping green beans halfway around the world to be roasted in Europe, we roast our coffee where it's grown — on the African continent, at African Coffee Roasters in Nairobi, Kenya. Our beans travel from smallholder farms in Malawi and Kenya to Nairobi, where they're roasted, sealed and prepared for export as a finished product, ready to brew the moment they reach you.
Roasting at origin has been our intention from day one — not a feature we added later, but the foundation the whole project was built on. Every decision we've made, from how we source to how we ship, has been shaped around keeping this final, most valuable step on African soil.
And that step matters more than it might seem. For generations, Africa has exported its coffee as a raw commodity, only for the roasting, branding and profit to happen elsewhere. The value — the skilled jobs, the margin, the expertise — has consistently left the continent along with the beans. By roasting in Kenya, we keep that value where the coffee comes from. It means more income and opportunity staying in the communities that grow it, a shorter and more transparent chain between farmer and cup, and a small but real shift in a trade that has too often taken from Africa without giving back.
We believe great coffee shouldn't have to leave home to become something worth celebrating.

Our Journey

In 2015, we established the MF Washing Station in Nkhota Village, near Manchewe Falls — Malawi’s highest waterfall and our namesake.

Here, founders Lyson, Noel, and Josh, all smallholder farmers from northern Malawi, process their coffee cherries with care and precision.

Coffee processed at MF travels from northern Malawi to Scotland, where it’s distributed across the UK.

This direct connection allows MF to collaborate, invest, and grow — producing some of the world’s finest coffee year after year. Every cup you enjoy supports sustainable farming, uplifts farmers, and boosts the local economy.

Our Goals

Dry Mill Construction:
Our next goal is to build a dry mill in Manchewe, where we can mill coffee locally using sustainable hydroelectricity from Chipopoma Power. This will keep more of the processing in-house, create jobs, and add value to the crop.

Local Roasting Facility:
Our long-term goal is to establish a roasting facility in Malawi, allowing us to roast, package, and export roasted coffee directly from where it’s grown — keeping more value in local hands.

Customer Testimonials

"Delicious coffee and really nice to feel like you're making the ethical choice too — perfect!"
– Hannah S