Monthly Coffee Loot Box - Burundi (September)

Burundi Origin Story

Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian is a key figure in Burundi's coffee industry today. Born in Bujumbura, she earned her MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School and worked in corporate America before returning to her roots. She founded Burundi Friends International, a nonprofit that has been supporting education and economic programs in rural Burundi for 13 years. After spending time promoting Burundi coffees in the US for friends and family, Jeanine decided to start her own business and created JNP Coffee.

JNP Coffee focuses heavily on supporting women. Working with local advocates, Jeanine helped start the Burundi branch of the International Women's Coffee Alliance. This network now includes over 2,000 women farmers whose coffee gets special recognition and higher prices because of their membership. The program has been so successful that JNP created additional programs to help even more farmers earn premium payments.

One of these programs began when a local leader from Kayanza Province—one of Burundi's most famous coffee regions—asked for JNP's help. He had heard about their support programs and wanted his group to participate. JNP created the "Dushime" program for groups like this, which means "let's be thankful" in the local language. The program offers quality advice, lot selection, marketing help, and year-end bonuses. The coffee from this partnership is called "Incuti," which means "friend" in Kirundi—a perfect name for this new relationship between Burundian coffee producers.

In Kayanza and Ngozi provinces, where most of Burundi's coffee is grown, there's strong competition for the best coffee cherries. Washing stations often pay above minimum prices to get premium harvests. JNP goes even further by giving farmers second payments and investing in education and community projects.

The Incuti group uses careful processing methods that match Burundi's best coffee producers. They float cherries to check quality before removing the fruit and fermenting. After fermentation, they sort the coffee by density in concrete channels. Drying starts in the shade, then moves to open air where the coffee is piled in pyramids that are flattened and reshaped daily for even drying. This careful process creates a bright, citrusy coffee that showcases the best of high-altitude Kayanza.

Grower - 400 producers organized around the Incuti producer group.

Altitude - 1900 MASL

Variety - Local Bourbon Cultivars

Soil - Volcanic Loam

Region - Kayanza Province, Burundi

Process - Fully washed and dried in the sun

Roast Level - Medium/Light