Milan single source for coffee expertise at World of Coffee
The coffee world centered around Milan, at least for a few days back in late June.
After Poland’s sudden influx of Ukrainian war refugees, the World of Coffee expo pivoted to Italy for this annual gathering of thousands of coffee industry experts and aficionados. More than 11,000 attended the global event in the MiCo, a modern building which offered a contrast to the centuries-old buildings of historic Milan just a few metro stops away.
JNP Coffee was there, the only Burundi specialty coffee supplier at the show. Our booth in the Roaster Village welcomed throngs of visitors to our cuppings of East African coffee selections. It was truly a crossroads of the world at our doorstep -- people came from Korea, from the Middle East, from all across Europe, even Ukraine. The dynamic energy felt like a reunion of many members of the extended JNP Coffee family rejoicing after being apart for too long.
Public cupping showcased Congolese coffee
Our special public cupping on the Expo’s Day 3 showcased four new coffees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, alongside eight coffees from Burundi, both fully washed and natural.
People arrived curious to learn about Congolese coffees and more background on Burundi. They left excited to find these new tastes of East Africa remain distinctive and bright. Coffee from Idjwi Island is clean and sweet, but as the trees are not grown in volcanic soil like in Burundi, the clear difference in taste comes from the terroir.
There is so much potential in Congo, but its coffee industry remains in development. JNP Coffee has established new relationships with key sources there. Given the challenging geography and poor infrastructure, however, we will offer a limited supply of green coffee from the current harvest. This means the earliest orders will avoid disappointment.
Global gathering for SCA Board
Both during and after the show, our founder Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian had two roles to play – coffee business owner and SCA board member. The three-day World of Coffee expo was followed by two additional days of meetings with a full agenda of discussion topics on the many global challenges the coffee industry faces today. Plans for 2023 events in Portland, Oregon and Athens, Greece are already underway.
In the weeks since our return from Milan, we have been busy connecting with the many new contacts we met there who are eager to learn more about how our specialty coffee is supporting women farmers and their communities.
Our daily conversations with managers of each processing center, as well as JNP Coffee’s Q-grader and lab team in Burundi keep the communication lines open with our suppliers at origin. While harvest is the busiest time, we work closely with our farmer communities year-round on best practices for cultivating high-scoring coffees. The financial literacy lessons continue, and more women are pooling their resources to make a difference in their lives.
We have green coffee samples from all our women-grown coffees as well as from the growing number of cooperative groups we source from. We welcome your email to info@jnpcoffee.com.
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