WEBVTT - Black Coffee 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:25.959 Welcome back to point of origin. Today we pay homage 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:30.280 to coffees, African origins and roots from East Africa to 0:00:30.360 --> 0:00:34.560 the East Bay. Up first with coffee entrepreneur Caba Conte 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:38.440 of Red Bay Coffee. He discusses his journey from pioneering 0:00:38.560 --> 0:00:42.239 African American coffee roaster too in his own words, the 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:46.480 largest black owned coffee company in the world. And Burundi 0:00:46.720 --> 0:00:51.120 Janine neon Ziema Aroian teaches us what makes Burundi an 0:00:51.159 --> 0:00:55.440 ideal coffee supplier. And finally we chat with Doug Hewitt 0:00:55.480 --> 0:01:00.000 of ninety one Coffee in Oakland, California, a nonprofit organization 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:04.160 providing job training for refugees. Today on point of origin, 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:25.760 it's black coffee that we you know, find ourselves, you know, 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:30.120 really situated in this especially coffee movement where you know, 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:33.440 things are really growing and a lot of awareness around 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:36.880 origins of coffee. And there was maybe ten fifteen years 0:01:36.880 --> 0:01:39.840 ago the sort of so called third wave of coffee 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:44.120 really came to the forefront with companies like Stumptown and 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:48.280 Blue Bottle. On the walls of Red Bay Coffee HQ 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:52.400 in fruit Bale, California is a huge living sculpture of 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:55.880 Africa by way of hanging plants in the shape of 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:59.400 the continents. Outline in the background is the hum of 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:03.320 roasting sheens, embellished by the ambient buzz of a diverse 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:07.760 cross section of the Bay Area community. Red Bay has 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:11.400 never just been a quick stop for coffee and always 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:15.200 a hub for the neighborhood. Here Kaba is explaining coffee 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:17.400 and the way that it is most often talked about 0:02:17.480 --> 0:02:22.040 within and around the industry, using the nomenclature of waves. 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:26.680 What I'm seeing American now is maybe a fourth wave 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:32.520 of coffee that's really addressing not just the quality of coffee, 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:35.640 but in addition to that, the movement around it, the 0:02:36.560 --> 0:02:39.760 really the impact that we're having on the environment and 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:45.840 on various communities. And when you talk about this movement, 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:51.120 can you summarize what this sort of third and fourth 0:02:51.160 --> 0:02:55.400 wave coffee movement is for people who might not be 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:59.920 aware with that version. The third wave coffee movement, you know, 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:04.720 really began, like I said, about fifteen years ago, and 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:08.560 it was around a couple of principles. It was around 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:13.919 roasting coffee to its sweet spot and not over roasting it, 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:17.520 really trying to roast a lot lighter than it had 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:22.280 historically been to really reveal more of the nuances of 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:26.200 of the coffee and and how it reflects the terror 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:31.840 of the origin where it was grown, the environment, um so, 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:35.160 and and really being a lot more transparent about the 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:40.760 origins where these you know, particular farms came from these microlots. Also, 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:43.840 the third wave had to do with in the cafes 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:47.680 kind of a certain aesthetic coffee. So that's a rough 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:51.600 summary of what sort of the third wave was. It was. 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:55.480 It was post Starbucks, which was you know, kind of 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:57.720 like a second wave if if, if you will, one 0:03:57.760 --> 0:04:01.120 another thing that was not necessary part of the third wave, 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:04.160 but it was just how it was, which is it's uh, 0:04:04.200 --> 0:04:08.440 you know, very wide elite, elitist space in terms of 0:04:08.480 --> 0:04:12.480 these kind of fancy specialty coffee shops. So this this 0:04:12.640 --> 0:04:15.920 next wave, you know, really just kind of taking form, 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:18.960 is just you seeing a lot more folks who are 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:22.599 reflecting some of these origin countries, whether it's you know, 0:04:22.800 --> 0:04:26.200 folks from you know, the the teens community or African 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:30.000 Americans participating. But really the net is getting wider and 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:33.920 more people are starting to enter into this space. Actually, 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:39.440 two thousand eighteen was the first time that they just 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:42.320 gathered some data where it showed that African Americans are 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:48.400 the fastest growing consumers especialty coffee. You know, so and 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:52.800 coffee overall is sort of flatline in terms of growth, 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:57.320 but it's um so, there's that whole movement what we're 0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:00.320 tapping into, right, some of the things you're not really 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:02.440 tapping into it. You kind of are the movement, though. 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:04.520 I feel like you're being kind of modest right now 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:09.159 because you're talking about this burgeoning group of black coffee drinkers. 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:12.240 I mean, I came in on the third wave, but 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:17.159 you know, like you you are the uh the black 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:21.440 coffee roaster in the States, right so uh yeah, yeah, 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:24.039 I was saving that for you. Yeah. That's my job 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:27.560 is to let people get the full context now for sure. 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:29.000 And that's why I want to talk to you, you know, 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:34.160 because it is you guys started in and you know 0:05:34.200 --> 0:05:38.000 it's we're now five years in, guys are continuing to grow. 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:41.760 And I have in my time in Oakland very much 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:45.560 experienced the amount of enthusiasm and excitement, especially black and 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:49.400 brown folks in Oakland have felt around your brand and 0:05:49.480 --> 0:05:52.880 the quality of the coffee that you are are selling. 0:05:53.279 --> 0:05:57.120 But how did you as as a black man who 0:05:57.160 --> 0:05:59.200 was an artist and entrepreneur, I mean, you had a 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:02.360 restaurant in Berkely, how did you find your way into 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:06.920 the coffee game? And once you landed there, how much 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:10.800 of your awareness self awareness as a black man in 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:14.599 the space has influenced the way that you've run and 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:17.200 grown Red Bay. Like a lot of people in the 0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:20.760 coffee industry, didn't necessarily seek out to be in the 0:06:20.760 --> 0:06:24.080 coffee industry, but UM kind of came in the back door, 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:26.720 so to speak. So that was new to me and 0:06:26.839 --> 0:06:31.080 UM but UM just having impact, hiring, building the team, helping, 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:36.839 you know, support UM people. It was just really fascinating path. 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:39.440 So that's kind of how I got into it. Through 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:41.720 the arts, into the coffee. The coffee really took off. 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:44.640 Open a second coffee shop. Now I got two coffee shops. 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:48.160 It's time to chap into some of the relationships I've 0:06:48.160 --> 0:06:51.320 had established around the world. Is A is a photojournalist, 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:56.360 UM traveling to many African and Central American and Caribbean 0:06:56.880 --> 0:07:02.160 coffee origin countries. Uh Um. So I wanted to kind 0:07:02.160 --> 0:07:04.640 of cut out the middleman and start sourcing my own coffee. 0:07:04.640 --> 0:07:09.120 And so that was a whole you know, um experience 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:12.000 onto itself in terms of you know, just my path 0:07:12.160 --> 0:07:14.720 on on on teaching myself on how to roast coffee 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:17.240 and kind of enter into that level of the game. 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:22.280 And it's a good point that you mentioned about these 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:25.760 countries of origin, because one of the weird things about coffee, 0:07:25.840 --> 0:07:28.880 or maybe not that weird at all, is that most 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:32.280 of the countries that are growing and producing the coffee 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:37.200 are exactly the opposite of the countries who are importing 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:40.960 the coffee and consuming the coffee. So when you moved 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:45.120 into the idea of roasting and having a little bit 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:48.080 more of a stake in the supply chain, how much 0:07:48.160 --> 0:07:54.400 was that on your mind when you made that decision. Uh, well, 0:07:54.400 --> 0:07:56.760 it's something I was very aware of, you know, like 0:07:56.840 --> 0:07:59.680 I mentioned in in these sort of third wave coffee shops, 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:04.120 you know, just the overall UH culture was very homogenous. Uh. 0:08:04.800 --> 0:08:07.880 This is something that you know, my folks have adopted 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:11.680 and uh and fetishized, you know, especialty coffee, along with 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:16.240 a lot of other components of black culture. Coffee started 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:21.080 in Africa, Ethiopia to be specific. You know, when the 0:08:21.200 --> 0:08:23.400 more I was learning about the history of coffee and 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:25.960 the origins of coffee, and it just seemed to go 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:29.480 against the grain of the popular misconception that coffee started 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:33.920 in Italy or Seattle or Columbia or something. So that 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:36.840 was something that was important to me. You know. It 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:38.599 was actually even camped into some of the work I 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:41.800 did as a photo journalist, which was wanting to sort 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:45.319 of reveal some of the stories UH in Africa and 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:48.560 African to ASPRAA that were I think, you know, miss 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:53.760 uhconceived images and understandings of Africa right where it's not 0:08:53.840 --> 0:08:57.640 just a desolate place with misery and you know, suffering, 0:08:58.240 --> 0:09:02.600 but you know vibrant, rich cultures with lush lanes and 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:05.439 you know there's hard times too. But as a photographer 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:07.840 and artists I went into I was compelled to show 0:09:07.880 --> 0:09:11.200 and tell some of those stories. I'm seeing more and 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:17.240 more entrepreneurs of color getting into coffee. It's a billion 0:09:17.280 --> 0:09:20.520 dollar a year industry. So this is an enormous industry 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:28.920 of technology, education, training, importing, exporting for people who are 0:09:29.040 --> 0:09:35.240 not up on coffee, who can't really understand or rationalize 0:09:35.440 --> 0:09:40.960 like a three dollar or four dollar a cup of coffee. Um, 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:45.560 can you talk about some of the distinguishing characteristics from 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:48.679 some of the regions that you will work with, and 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:53.200 how that has an impact on the premium coffee if 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:57.480 you think about the spectrum of quality and prices that 0:09:57.600 --> 0:10:02.800 come with the industry, like wine coffee, for really special 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:05.800 tea coffee emerged as a theme. It was really just 0:10:06.000 --> 0:10:10.920 the cheapest coffee, roasted really dark. So it's all sort 0:10:10.920 --> 0:10:17.240 of the same as and predictability of of mediocracy. And 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:20.000 it was cheap and you know, and it had caffeine 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:22.719 and that was sort of the thing. So as as 0:10:22.760 --> 0:10:26.040 the industry started to kind of specialize and trying to 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:29.400 elevate the quality, you know, the level of investment, the 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:32.200 level of labor that goes into it. You know, the 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:37.640 complexity you know of specialty coffee is as much or 0:10:37.679 --> 0:10:41.280 greater than than wine. Special thing is once you start 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:48.200 sort of exploring outside of latte's and cappuccinos and flavored drinks, 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:51.840 and so yeah, I would just encourage everyone who's listening 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:55.679 to this. You know, next time you're coffee shop and 0:10:55.760 --> 0:10:58.280 you have a few extra minutes, you know, um order 0:10:58.320 --> 0:11:00.880 to pore over and just talk to the recent about 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:04.400 some of the different options, and you know, you may 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:07.560 pay a dollar more and wait a few more minutes. Uh, 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:14.400 but go forward and invest invest in that all right on, 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:21.959 and what is next for Red Bay Coffee? Signed the 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:26.480 lease on a on a building in South l a. 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:30.239 And we're just broke ground this week on the construction 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:32.679 of it. And uh yeah, it's very exciting, you know. 0:11:32.760 --> 0:11:38.120 So what we're building is a public rostary, but our 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:42.080 spaces are also open to the public, their cafes, their 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:46.640 their venues for doing all sorts of events. So that's 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:49.640 one of the things that distinguished his Red Bay Coffee 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:55.000 from most coffee companies. We create platforms for community engagement. 0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:59.480 We did two hundred events last year in Oakland at 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:02.640 our public rostery there. So this will be our second 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:08.719 public rosary and it's you know, eleven thousand square fee. Um. 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:11.880 And there will be you know, designed, there will be 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:17.200 our you know events around you know um, you know, uh, 0:12:17.320 --> 0:12:21.480 independent films or you know, fundraises for fifty black women 0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:25.840 running for political office, conferences around educating the black child 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:31.040 to live music and you know, pole dancing demonstrations that 0:12:31.320 --> 0:12:34.360 I mean, it really is really a reflection of the community. 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:38.920 It's really a manifestation of what is around us in 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:43.040 the community. Really Big Coffee is the largest black owned 0:12:43.080 --> 0:12:46.920 coffee company in the world and UM, and we're making 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:50.960 a impact. We're you know, doing what we do in 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:56.160 terms of storytelling and marketing and and UM to make 0:12:56.440 --> 0:13:00.559 especially coffee more approachable in terms of you know, really 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:03.559 how it's you know, thinking about some of these relationships, 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:07.480 you know what I have seen mostly in the industry, 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:11.280 it's a lot more sort of barista as a color, right, 0:13:11.360 --> 0:13:15.040 So it's visibly you're you're seeing it change on the 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:19.840 very front lines. UM. Not as much in the boardrooms 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:23.640 and ownership and and really executive leadership of some of 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:28.360 the more competitive companies. I'm not really seeing it there yet. 0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:35.520 I'm seeing more and more entrepreneurs of color getting into coffee. 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:38.760 It's a billion dollar a year industry and there's just 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:46.200 such a vast array of career paths and opportunities. I'm 0:13:46.240 --> 0:14:03.920 always encouraging folks to to, you know, explore them. I 0:14:03.960 --> 0:14:06.800 was born and raised in Bundi, which is a central 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:10.040 East Africa. It's a very small and tiny country and 0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:12.040 we call it the heart of Africa as a more fact, 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:15.920 but unlocked sharing borders would want that to the north 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:18.880 Tanzania to the east and then Congo to the west. 0:14:19.360 --> 0:14:23.200 Burundi native Janine neon Ziema, a Roian, is the owner 0:14:23.240 --> 0:14:27.520 and founder of j NP Coffee. Yeah, so brund is 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:31.080 a producing it to a coffee producing country actually which 0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:36.080 most people you know, not everybody knows about it. But 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.280 we didn't drink coffee. Actually when I was growing up 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:42.040 in my own home, we actually drink more tea, teas more. 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:45.160 You know, the culture you know, in Burundi and um 0:14:45.320 --> 0:14:47.720 coffee mainly was used for is a is a cash crop. 0:14:48.960 --> 0:14:52.280 In two thousand twelve, Janine founded j NP Coffee and 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:56.160 has since won multiple awards for her specialty coffees and 0:14:56.320 --> 0:15:01.960 development strategies, which have consistently prioritized participation in equity for 0:15:02.080 --> 0:15:06.600 women working at the point of origin, prioritizing gender equality, 0:15:06.720 --> 0:15:11.720 supporting financial literacy and education, plus development of leadership skills. 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:15.320 Janine today is the only woman who is a majority 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:20.120 shareholder in a large Burundian coffee conglomerate. Bone is a 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:24.120 very small country. It's actually the size of Maryland State. UM. 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:27.520 And then because it's so small also um, there is 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:31.160 a scarcey of land. Uh. There's eleven million people living 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:34.720 in Burundi. UM and really we kind of like live 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:36.240 on the top of each other, if she might say, 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:39.440 because of you know, how small the country is and 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:42.640 and and also um what can be produced from that country. 0:15:42.720 --> 0:15:47.200 So when we really talk about coffee that's produced from Burundi, UM, 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:50.040 it's it's it's very little compared to how much coffee 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:53.080 is produced in places like you know, Brazil. UM. So 0:15:53.160 --> 0:15:56.160 because of that, the opportunity actually to be able to 0:15:56.200 --> 0:15:59.480 make a coffee from Brundi very special and very unique 0:15:59.600 --> 0:16:03.560 is that, um, because it's not overwhelming. We don't use machinery, 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:05.880 you know, but you know, the cherries are picked by 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:10.800 hand during the harvests and every year by the farmers 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:14.240 and um. So the you know, the the labor work, 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:16.480 it's very intensive. This is something also some of the 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:19.200 most people don't understand is the amount of time and 0:16:19.280 --> 0:16:22.600 energy that goes into really making that cup of perfect 0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:25.200 cup of coffee that you end up by consuming every 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:28.440 morning that we all look forward to. Uh So, but 0:16:28.520 --> 0:16:31.520 you know, labor wise, it is it is very intensive 0:16:31.560 --> 0:16:34.080 because it's the same bound the coffee is picked by hand. 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:38.080 There's no machineries, um. And it's it's delivered to the 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:41.000 neuralests you know, wet meal, and usually that's about an 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:45.120 hour or so of walk. So most of the pickers 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:48.040 you know would actually deliver on the on the head um. 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:50.400 Some of them were you know, fortunately have a bicycle. 0:16:50.440 --> 0:16:52.080 They will actually put on a bicycle so it can 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:54.760 be delivered to the nearest you know, wet meal on 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:57.560 on bicycle. And then once the coffee actually get to 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:00.600 the wet maal it gets there's like another level process, 0:17:00.680 --> 0:17:03.200 you know, they had. There's this flotation process that the 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:05.680 coffee had to go through. And after the flotation and 0:17:05.720 --> 0:17:07.280 which I mean the you know, the good things, they 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:09.040 take it out the bad things that throw it away. 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:12.560 And then after that the coffee goes into a machinery 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:16.120 which called the the popping, which removed the skin over 0:17:16.359 --> 0:17:19.640 you know, the cherry. And then it goes into uh 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:24.160 the soaking overnight soaking of the cherries into um tanks 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:26.840 you know, until you know that what they called the 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:29.840 musilage to be able to remove that you know, mutilage 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:35.520 on on on the you know, on the beans, and 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:37.480 then from there the wash it and then it goes 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:40.639 onto the called the rays African beds and that is 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:44.640 like a thirty days time to really turn and um, 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:48.280 turning and and moving and covering of of the of 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:51.479 the of the bean until it dries out and then 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:53.960 goes to the dry meal um then which it goes 0:17:54.040 --> 0:17:56.359 through the last process before I get explorts. So it's 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:00.760 it's very labor intense. But because so the nature of 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:02.960 the country being small, on the amount of coffee that's 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:06.360 being produced in Bundi, it's small relative to what goes 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:09.880 on in other bigger countries um or major countries, which 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:11.840 also is also in my point of view, as an 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:18.360 opportunity to really make the Boondi coffee just amazingly exceptionally. UM. Well, yeah, 0:18:18.480 --> 0:18:22.560 that makes sense. Because it's so small, it actually gives 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:27.640 you a larger opportunity and the global marketplace because it's 0:18:28.240 --> 0:18:32.600 a more specialty item. For me, the reason I really 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:36.240 got into more coffee and and and left the corporate 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:39.560 world was the ability, as I said about this you 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:43.199 know special beings from Bundy, the ability that we actually 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:46.240 we could you know, utilize this being to alleviate people 0:18:46.280 --> 0:18:49.520 out of poverty. In two thousand and eight, before starting 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:54.320 JMP Coffee, Janine started a nonprofit called Burundi Friends International 0:18:54.840 --> 0:18:59.080 and Economic Empowerment Initiative to create sustaining communities in Burundi. 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:03.080 In the last four years alone, J and P has 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:05.959 paid over a quarter million dollars in the form of 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:11.720 bonuses and premiums which encourage quality and ensure economic sustainability. 0:19:12.080 --> 0:19:13.719 So I actually use this as a way to kind 0:19:13.720 --> 0:19:16.240 of empower you know, farmers in Bundy to kind of 0:19:17.080 --> 0:19:19.919 provide them, you know, an opportunity to be able to 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:24.840 get the extra income in by incentivizing and empowering the 0:19:24.840 --> 0:19:27.880 farmers to produce the high quality you know cup of coffee. 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:29.959 Because we always go back and provide what we call 0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:32.600 the second payment in the form of a premium then 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:35.119 again to encourage them to continuously you know, produce a 0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:40.000 high quality you know coffee. But in terms of so 0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:42.760 I'm involved from everything, you know, there's a from you know, 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:46.359 dealing with farmers. You know, I get calls from farmers 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:48.760 all the time UM that that we that we deal 0:19:48.840 --> 0:19:51.240 with to you know, dealing with one males that we 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:54.240 also happened to also have some shares in some of 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:56.600 their web mails, which is the processing you know centers 0:19:57.080 --> 0:20:02.080 UH in Bundy to UM making sure that every single time. 0:20:02.080 --> 0:20:05.240 I always tell people it's like every cherries that we 0:20:05.320 --> 0:20:08.480 provide is Genpi coffee. We have been involved from that 0:20:08.600 --> 0:20:10.400 chair from the time we get picked from the tree 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:12.280 to the time we actually get delivered to the wind 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:15.000 male which just follow it all the way through. As 0:20:15.200 --> 0:20:18.520 as as an owner, I get involved from you know, 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:21.840 farmers wanting to work with us and figuring out we 0:20:21.880 --> 0:20:23.840 want to work with and how we're going to support them, 0:20:24.280 --> 0:20:28.359 to making sure that you know, the coffee, we select 0:20:28.400 --> 0:20:31.160 the right coffee and and we bring forward the right coffee, 0:20:31.240 --> 0:20:34.320 to exporting a small fact right now is really speaking, um, 0:20:34.680 --> 0:20:39.480 just finishing putting some coffee on trucks that are living Bundy, 0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:42.280 and we have some continuers that have already left you 0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:45.199 know the port of Tanzania heading um, you know to 0:20:45.280 --> 0:20:48.280 the States. So this this, this is the whole taking 0:20:48.440 --> 0:20:50.440 talking about the whole picture of what I get involved 0:20:50.440 --> 0:20:53.720 from knowledge is you know what coffee origins that you know, 0:20:53.800 --> 0:20:56.840 our coffee come from. But she also really getting the coffee, 0:20:56.880 --> 0:21:00.639 you know, move smoothly and safely from Londed to get 0:21:00.720 --> 0:21:03.520 into port in the US too, then finally getting to 0:21:03.680 --> 0:21:07.080 our rosters you know, throughout the country. In this case 0:21:07.119 --> 0:21:09.320 in the US, but also in other part of the 0:21:09.320 --> 0:21:12.919 world because we also work in Europe and an Asia. 0:21:13.400 --> 0:21:18.240 M hm, can you help us understand Burundi and it's 0:21:18.280 --> 0:21:24.520 coffee from a ter war perspective? Very good question. So, Um, 0:21:24.720 --> 0:21:26.800 first of all, I think, as I had mentioned earlier, 0:21:27.000 --> 0:21:30.359 brewing this absolutely gorgeous country. So it's a bit and 0:21:30.359 --> 0:21:33.160 and and you don't I didn't know myself how beautiful 0:21:33.160 --> 0:21:35.960 it is actually until I went back, which is very interesting. 0:21:36.840 --> 0:21:40.880 But it's very hilly. Um and coffee usually grow from 0:21:40.960 --> 0:21:46.040 anywhere around six six thousand feet above sea level. Um 0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:49.800 and Um. The weather is very cool in the countryside 0:21:49.840 --> 0:21:52.879 where the you know, coffee grows, and usually on hills. 0:21:53.560 --> 0:21:56.840 Um And the soil itself, it's a volcanic soil. It's 0:21:56.840 --> 0:21:59.080 actually kind of a reddish soil, which is very good 0:21:59.680 --> 0:22:02.760 when it comes to providing the right nutrients you know, 0:22:02.840 --> 0:22:05.520 for you know, for the cherries. So it also helps 0:22:05.560 --> 0:22:07.040 you know, to hold the water very well in the 0:22:07.119 --> 0:22:11.199 cherries and also produced like the the right ingredients that 0:22:11.400 --> 0:22:13.879 the cherries need to grow and and and grow well. 0:22:14.560 --> 0:22:19.439 Burundi's volcanic soil and modest annual rainfall contribute to a 0:22:19.560 --> 0:22:23.720 perfect environment for growing coffee. Volcanic soil is rich and 0:22:23.840 --> 0:22:27.960 nutrients such as nitrogen, which coffee plants really really need. 0:22:29.080 --> 0:22:32.879 Burundi's Arabica coffee grows at a high altitude, which contributes 0:22:32.920 --> 0:22:37.400 to the bright acidity, sweetness and complexity of these full 0:22:37.480 --> 0:22:41.479 bodied coffees. And then there's a sunshine so it's cooler 0:22:41.560 --> 0:22:44.280 during the day, the airly in the morning, uh, kind 0:22:44.280 --> 0:22:46.800 of like the bay area actually climates, if I might say. 0:22:46.800 --> 0:22:48.840 And then during the middle of the day, you know, 0:22:48.920 --> 0:22:51.359 the sun just like you know, just shine on on 0:22:51.880 --> 0:22:54.960 on the trees and then on the cherries, which is 0:22:55.000 --> 0:22:58.159 something that also perhaps you know, the you know, the 0:22:58.240 --> 0:23:00.399 cherries to grow very well. And and and I time it 0:23:00.600 --> 0:23:03.200 goes down to our cooling which also preserve and help 0:23:03.640 --> 0:23:06.399 uh you know, the cherries you know grow properly. Um. 0:23:06.560 --> 0:23:10.720 So yeah, so very high elevation um. And also the 0:23:12.640 --> 0:23:15.919 volcanic soil of of of Burundi and also the cooler 0:23:15.920 --> 0:23:19.359 weather um and also being able to grow on the 0:23:19.440 --> 0:23:22.479 hills really helps. I guess the coffee from Bundy very 0:23:22.560 --> 0:23:25.840 unique and and and Bundy also have like when you 0:23:25.880 --> 0:23:28.720 talk about the different areas, it's like the northern part 0:23:28.760 --> 0:23:32.440 of Brundi which is you know share boarders Rwanda which 0:23:32.480 --> 0:23:34.000 is the Cayanza and go to Ze and there is 0:23:34.000 --> 0:23:37.240 a central part of Boondy which also Um it's another 0:23:37.280 --> 0:23:40.600 different when it comes to a coffee coming from one 0:23:40.640 --> 0:23:42.560 area to another one you think you find in my 0:23:42.640 --> 0:23:46.000 point of you find more lemoned citrus and from one side, 0:23:46.040 --> 0:23:48.720 and I find more chocolate and spices from the other side, 0:23:49.040 --> 0:23:50.679 from the other part of the country. And then there 0:23:50.760 --> 0:23:53.199 is actually new Ti we also were trying we have 0:23:53.280 --> 0:23:57.600 recently discover which is more and there a north east 0:23:57.720 --> 0:24:01.040 part of the country. UM that's more kind like crisp clean, 0:24:01.160 --> 0:24:03.760 you know in terms of like the taste notes that 0:24:03.800 --> 0:24:07.720 you can find into the coffee. And and additional to these, 0:24:07.800 --> 0:24:11.200 you know Spruckling a city back that you usually would 0:24:11.200 --> 0:24:15.680 expect to our finding some very well prepared coffee from Bounding. Wow, 0:24:16.240 --> 0:24:19.560 God love it. So it's it's very interesting because I 0:24:19.560 --> 0:24:21.720 also think that's you know, each coffee in my point 0:24:21.720 --> 0:24:24.720 of view, each of the different coffee. Um of our 0:24:24.760 --> 0:24:27.439 coffee has a home. So they always they always tell you, 0:24:27.480 --> 0:24:29.359 even like you know, high end coffee to just not 0:24:29.560 --> 0:24:33.040 so high end coffee. Each coffee has a home. But 0:24:33.600 --> 0:24:36.560 it really I think that's we are. We are very 0:24:36.640 --> 0:24:39.399 lucky um to do from the fact that you know, 0:24:39.920 --> 0:24:43.119 I really I choose why it sell my coffee too 0:24:43.600 --> 0:24:47.040 most of the times. So I do know people who 0:24:47.119 --> 0:24:49.639 understand we're going to you know, treat the coffees and 0:24:49.760 --> 0:24:54.560 wild who also aligned with our value because above or 0:24:54.560 --> 0:24:56.879 beyond just the quality, which this is the first and 0:24:56.920 --> 0:24:59.240 foremost you know for my business and has always been 0:24:59.720 --> 0:25:02.919 UM that I always you know, strive for um. You know, 0:25:02.960 --> 0:25:05.080 companies also have to be alligned in terms of lack 0:25:05.160 --> 0:25:07.600 our values and when we understand. So I tried to 0:25:07.680 --> 0:25:09.159 kind of like you know, pick you know, based on 0:25:09.200 --> 0:25:13.320 that and um because to me, producing the great coffee 0:25:13.320 --> 0:25:15.480 from Burundi and bring the great coffee from Bundy to 0:25:15.560 --> 0:25:18.840 the world market is so wonderful. But what else are 0:25:18.840 --> 0:25:21.200 we doing for the people? And what are the politics 0:25:21.240 --> 0:25:24.720