The pretty good road from Nakuru brought us to the cooler and hilly area around Kericho. The town remains a mesmerizing wallpaper-worthy sea of greens in the landscape and is home to several tea farms and factories. One of Kenya’s largest exports and oldest industries is its black tea. Production has occurred in and around Kericho town since the early 20th century and is still strong.
We did not find any good parking location, so we ended up in the parking lot of the police station (tip 1000 KES) just opposite Green Square Mall with a supermarket, Java House, and a good Aubergine restaurant, where we got contact on the cook´s brother, who was able to drive us around the next day (2500 KES). In the evening, you can have a beer there in the lively Wessyde lounge.
We tried hard but found no tea estates that offered access or tours of their production facilities. We saw rows and rows of vibrant green hip-high bushes from the road as we drove through the highlands. We visited the 607-hectare Chesumot farm, which grows a few tea varieties, including green and purple tea. Tea is best picked by hand, and most farms in Kenya have staff to pick it up early in the morning, which was also a fascinating and impressive sight. If they work hard and have a good day, they can make 1000 KES (around 8 USD).
Parking location – Kericho: 0.367822S 35.287108E (🅿️,🚻)