Like much of coffee production in Africa, Burundi’s coffee history is tied to colonialism – first introduced by the Belgians in the 1930s, coffee now makes up more than 80% of exports from the small, landlocked country. The backbone of Burundi’s coffee production are smallholder farmers – growing coffee in small gardens, tended by family.   

This coffee represents a new relationship for us – sourced through JNP Coffee. Founded by Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian in 2012, JNP is committed to both sourcing exceptional coffees from Burundi, as well as encouraging transformational change for local coffee farmers by promoting gender equality, supporting financial literacy education and developing leadership skills. Coffee grown in Ngozi Province has a special meaning for Jeanine, from JNP, as that is where her mother grew up. Stories of her mother helping the family harvest coffee cherries to cover school fees have inspired the name of this lot – in Kirundi, “Bavyeyi” means “parents.” 

Remote areas of Ngozi, with high-altitude and volcanic soils, are well known for quality coffee. JNP Coffee works with several washing stations to build this lot – with over 2,000 producers contributing coffees, many of whom are women. The JNP quality team visits regularly to advise the farmers on best practices to strengthen their crops and achieve the highest scores.