The story behind our May Coffee of the Month, and the partnership that makes it possible.
Oren has always said that buying the best coffee is a very expensive operation. That belief has shaped every sourcing decision since the shop opened in 1986. It also shapes who we choose to work with.
This month, our Coffee of the Month is the Burundi Turihamwe, a new washed crop for 2025/2026 sourced through our partner JNP Coffee. If you have been following us for a while, Burundi coffees are not new to our shelves. Oren visited the country nine years ago and has been sourcing there ever since, through one name he has come to trust: Jeanine.
Coffee as a Force for Change
For Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian, coffee was never just a commodity. Growing up in Bujumbura, Burundi, her family cultivated the crop in Ngozi Province to pay for school fees. After earning an MBA from Northwestern University and building a 20-plus-year international business career, she came back to coffee with a clear purpose: to promote the exceptional, largely unknown coffees of her home country, and to make sure the people who grew them actually benefited.
In 2012, she founded JNP Coffee. Today it works with over 18,000 farmers across Burundi, and its Dushime® premium payment program distributes quality bonuses directly to women growers. In Kirundi, Dushime means “let’s be thankful.” More than 10,000 women and their families benefit from those payments, using them to fund their children’s education, reinvest in their coffee plantations, and save the money they earn, often for the very first time.
Why This Coffee, and Why These Farmers
The Turihamwe is grown by a group of women farmers in Ngozi Province who did something remarkable. They pooled their resources, financed their own wet mill, and built it themselves, all so they could control quality and keep more of the profit. They were able to do it because roasters, including us, pay a meaningful premium for their coffee. And crucially, that premium actually makes it to the farmers because Jeanine makes sure of it.
That matters to us. It’s easy to talk about transparency in the supply chain, but it’s harder to actually verify it. Knowing the people at every stage and trusting their values is part of how we stay confident in what we’re selling.
What’s in the Cup
Burundi coffee grows at high altitudes between 1,200 and 1,950 meters above sea level. That elevation contributes to the bright acidity, sweetness, and full-bodied complexity that makes the region’s coffees so distinct. The Turihamwe is washed, grown from the old Bourbon varietal, and comes in at 1,750 MASL. The result: a sweet honeydew melon, floral aroma, and a clean, layered finish. Nothing forced, just a well-grown bean handled with care.
That combination of quality and intention is why the partnership with JNP Coffee has held. Good coffee, with a supply chain Oren can stand behind. It’s the only kind of coffee Oren has ever been interested in carrying.
The Burundi Turihamwe is available for 10% off all May.
Burundi Turihamwe
