Burundi, a small, landlocked country in East Africa, has a rich coffee history dating back to the 1930s when Belgian colonialists introduced coffee farming. With its mountainous terrain and cooler temperatures, Burundi is ideally suited for growing high-quality Arabica beans, making coffee the country’s largest export crop and a crucial source of foreign currency, accounting for over 60% of its foreign exchange earnings.
More than 600,000 smallholder farmers, often with less than a hectare of land, contribute to nearly 90% of the country's coffee production. For many families, coffee provides a vital pathway to improved living conditions, education, and healthcare.
Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian 's story is a shining example of how coffee can drive change in Burundi. Growing up in the bustling city of Bujumbura, she remembers her mother’s stories of how their family in Ngozi Province relied on cultivating coffee to pay for school fees. Years later, with an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a 20-plus-year international business career, Jeanine returned to Burundi, recognizing the immense potential of her country's coffee.
At a Cup of Excellence competition, she saw an opportunity to introduce Burundi's exceptional, but underrecognized, coffees to the global market as a means to uplift farmers and contribute to the country's growth. This led her to establish JNP Coffee in 2012.
Today, JNP Coffee is known for its award-winning specialty coffees and gender-sensitive development strategies. Jeanine, a licensed Q Grader and certified Q Processor Level 1, serves as a role model for what Burundian women can achieve, continuing to strengthen the global specialty coffee industry as a member of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Board of Directors.
JNP Coffee’s business model is rooted in quality and producer partnerships, aligning with several United Nations sustainable development goals. By promoting gender equality, financial literacy, and leadership skills, JNP Coffee encourages transformational change for local farmers, building resilience and expanding production capacity.
More than 10,000 women and their families benefit from JNP Coffee's Dushime® premium, which offers fair compensation for their hard work. With this income, women invest in their coffee plantations, pay for their children’s education, and save money for the first time in their lives. Despite challenges like price volatility, climate change, and political instability, initiatives like JNP Coffee are helping to improve coffee quality, access premium markets, and support sustainable development in Burundi.
Jeanine’s journey, intertwined with the history and potential of Burundi's coffee, demonstrates the power of community-driven initiatives to elevate a nation. By supporting Burundi coffee, you contribute to the livelihoods of thousands of farmers, promote gender equality, and invest in the country's economic growth and rural development.
JNP coffees are available at Roasteria. Contact us for more details.
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