Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with James Parrelly, CEO of Amani Coffee Company:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to Amani Coffee Company?
A: Amani Coffee Company delivers organic, 100% Arabica, specialty grade coffee direct from Congo to your cup. We believe in building a company with a cause. We see coffee as a medium through which we can spread societal change. To that end, we pay all of our farmers above market wages, we offer them equity in our business, and donate $1 for every bag sold back to a charity in DR Congo to help build infrastructure. We have fully integrated our supply from the farmers in our co-op, to the import process, all the way to the final roasted product to deliver the highest quality and freshest coffee we can.
Q: What’s so special about the coffee?
A: Much of the flavor in coffee comes from the rich soil and atmosphere in which it grows. Our coffee is grown at approximately 4500 ft in the Kyondo mountains in the eastern side of DR Congo. This area has a tremendously rich agriculture and develops great coffee. Beyond that, the drying and sorting process, much of which is done by hand, requires a great amount of time and precision to sort the highest quality coffee. Our co-op is approximately 2450 farmers (850 of which are women earning equal wages for the first time in their lives) work very hard to deliver this quality and in return, we feel it is only right to pay them a premium for their high quality and hard work.
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Q: Can you give us insights into your products?
A: Our products are organic, 100% Arabica, specialty grade coffee beans. We offer our products in Light Roast or Dark Roast and in whole bean or ground. Each roast and grind type is offered in 12oz ($15), 1lb ($20), or 5lb ($75) bags. We also offer our coffee in frack packs and other items for office supply, etc.
Q: I read something about your partnership with Congo Restoration Effort; could you tell us something more?
A: Congo Restoration Effort is a non-profit organization based in DR Congo that helps build infrastructure through the agricultural regions of DRC. Congo Restoration Effort believes in spreading peace through economic prosperity. As such, a key component to economic prosperity are things like schools, roads, clean water, churches, etc. Congo Restoration Effort has made a great impact on the area and we hope to continue to grow that impact over time.
Q: What’s the best thing about Amani Coffee that people might not know about?
A: If you haven’t tried our coffee, you will be amazed at the clean, bright, flavor and you will be left with absolutely no bitter notes. The quality of our coffee is truly great. Beyond that, people should know that this endeavor is truly mission oriented. We started Amani Coffee as a way to develop trade between the US and DRC in an effort to promote peace and economic development. In fact, we chose our name because the word “Amani” is Swahili for “peace.” It would be much easier for us to buy coffee from another importer and roast it, but that’s not how we can make maximum impact and change.
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Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: This year, we plan to develop cold brew, a nitro-based product, and an espresso roast to compliment our existing products. We also have begun to partner with a number of US-based charitable organizations to donate up to 20% sales to particular organizations. We will always maintain our charitable relationship with Congo Restoration Effort and the people of DRC, but we firmly believe that we can do more and that is exactly what we are doing. In the next 3 years, we plan on replicating our direct relationship with other coffee growing countries to promote more peace in other regions around the world.
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