Bongo Java Roasting Company

November 30, 2020

Bongo Java Roasting Company is a Nashville institution, famous across the Southeast for its 100% organic premium coffee beans, rich flavor, and unwavering commitment to Fair-Trade practices. It’s Nashville’s only certified organic coffee company and a proud member of the Bongo Java family of one-of-a-kind cafes, restaurants, and wholesale businesses.

Bongo Java Roasting Company is a business that walks its talk, believing in the little guy and supporting small producers around the world. Their mission to “spend more dollars doing the right thing than telling the world about ourselves” means sourcing as much coffee from regional and small-scale producers as is practical, and purchasing at above Fair-Trade prices.

Bongo Java Roasting Company leadership regularly visits its farmers, tastes their coffee, and provides direct support to individual farms. Most BJRC beans are purchased through Cooperative Coffees, a group of small-scale coffee roasters dedicated to fostering long-term relationships with farmers. BJRC owner Bob Bernstein helped found the organization, ensuring that farmers in Indonesia, Central and South America, and Africa can continue to own their land and customers can experience high-quality, delicious coffee they can feel good about.

Bongo Java is the brainchild of Bob Bernstein, a “recovering journalist” who moved to Nashville for a job and fell in love with the city. Bernstein left his journalism career to enter the coffee scene in 1993 with Bongo Java, a Belmont/ Hillsboro Village haunt now known as Nashville’s “oldest and most honored” coffeehouse. Its sister cafe in East Nashville also housed the Bongo Java Roasting Company, where customers could watch beans being roasted as they sipped their Joe. Though the wholesale roasting operation eventually outgrew its storefront beginnings, neighbors still vividly remember the scent of freshly roasted coffee wafting around the block every morning. 

Bongo Java is an incredible artisan partner to all kinds of Tennessee businesses, lending its beans to Olive and Sinclair chocolate bars, appearing in the Spirit of Nashville art print collection, collaborating with Leiper’s Fork Distillery on a Bourbon Barrel Aged Coffee, and even adding a little buzz to a new craft coffee cider from local favorite Diskin Cider.  And across the board, Bongo Java supports the Nashville community by stepping up as a major purchaser of regional produce, meats, and cheeses for its restaurants.

Made in TN is proud to offer several ways to experience the BJRC magic, with a rotating selection of specialty roasts, collaborations, and gift baskets. Find your favorite here.

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