East Africa produces some of the most exciting and sought-after coffees in the world. And while these have typically come primarily from larger producing countries like Ethiopia and Kenya, their neighbor to the southeast, Burundi, would like to have a word. With its high altitudes and volcanic soils, coffees produced in Burundi can be deeply complex, offering up both big time juiciness a la Kenyan coffees as well as the delicate florals of their Ethiopian counterparts.
And now, some of the best of the best in Burundian coffee are coming up for auction. Taking place November 30th, JNP Coffee is hosting Grand Cru Burundi, an online green coffee auction with some of the highest scoring lots in this yearโs harvest.
Started in 2012 by Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian (interviewed here by Michelle Johnson for the Seed to Cup podcast), JNP Coffee produces and sources exclusively specialty coffee from Burundi, focusing on women farmers, in hopes of bringing a positive economic impact on those they work with. And this mission continues with Grand Cru Burundi.
For the auction, 26 of the highest scoring micro-lots from this yearโs harvest will be up for bid, ranging in scores from 87.5 to 91.5. Proceeds from the auction will go to โsupport economic development for women, youth, and the environmentโ in Burundi, including โmore training and certifications for coffee farmers, more educational programs for young people starting their coffee careers, and the creation of post-processing solutions for clean water.โ
Additionally, JNP has initiated the โindustryโs first-everโ Dushime premium program. With the program, farmers can receive a โsecond payment from JNP Coffee sourced from global sales of the prized specialty Bourbon coffee.โ The better the coffee does, the higher the second payment.
Grand Cru Burundi, A JNP Coffee Auction takes place online November 30th at 2:00pm PST. Interested bidders can register for the auction via the JNP website, where they can also sign up to receive samples of the 26 micro-lots. For more information, visit JNP Coffeeโs official website.
And when you win a lot, send your ole friend Zac a bag as a thank you for letting you on to some of the most exciting coffees out there right now.
Zac Cadwaladerย is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas.ย Read more Zac Cadwaladerย on Sprudge.
