Jeanine Nyonzima-Aroian of JNP Coffee.
Burundi’s first-ever private auction of specialty coffee, titled Grand Cru Burundi, will debut on December 8. Featuring 26 Bourbon coffees scored at 87 and above, the auction is organized and sponsored by JNP Coffee, a coffee producing, exporting, and marketing company founded by certified Q grader and Q processor, Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian.
“The Grand Cru Burundi is a confirmation that JNP Coffee’s dreams have grown and so have the dreams of our partners, the Burundi coffee producers,” said Niyonzima-Aroian, a native of Burundi who lives in California and has been promoting Burundi beans in the global specialty coffee market since 2012.
“We are offering exclusive selection, including washed and natural heirloom Bourbon coffees grown above 1,700 meters and rated between 87 and 91 points (based on the standard)," Niyonzima-Aroian said.
The coffees have been selected as the best among 100 lots by Boot Coffee Campus, a quality training center and consultancy based in California.
JNP aims to promote the social and economic welfare of farmers in Burundi. Net proceeds from the Grand Cru Burundi will help fund coffee producers, especially women and youth, to get additional training and certifications, enrol in educational programs in financial literacy, and pursue careers in coffee.
Auction proceeds will also be used to help producers improve how they treat the water used to process the coffees. This is particularly important in the case of fully washed beans, which are allowed to ferment overnight and then are washed to remove the mucilage. The leftover water contains a high level of acidity that can contaminate any stream or pond into which it is released.
JNP Coffee launched Burundi's first premium program in 2013. Under the initiative, the company provides a second payment to farmers derived from its coffee sales. The program operates under the trademarked name "Dushime," which means "let’s be thankful" in the Kirundi language.
Some 10,000 farmers benefit from JNP's direct trade sales, up from the 2000 when the program started.
“When you empower women in places like Burundi, you are empowering the entire community,” said Niyonzima-Aroian, who is a board member of the Specialty Coffee Association. “This auction has special significance for us because every purchase will support development initiatives for Burundi's farmers,” she said.
“We have seen the transformative power of coffee and we are eager to do more," Niyonzima-Aroian said.
Founded in 2012, JNP Coffee has offices in Burundi and the United States. The company also has a lab in Burundi and staff throughout the country.
Burundi is a landlocked country of 12 million people with an annual GDP per capita of $223, among the lowest levels in the world, according to World Bank figures. Situated between other coffee producers in East Africa like Tanzania, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, it has more than 700,000 farmers cultivating coffee on an estimated 60,000 hectares of land, mainly in altitudes between 1,250 and 2,000 meters above sea level. Most of the crop is the Bourbon arabica coffee variety
Burundi’s coffee production was estimated at 255,000 60-kilogram bags in 2020, ranking it number 10 among Africa’s top producers, according to the International Coffee Organization (ICO).