Jamaican Blue Mountain CoffeeFive years later in 1728 the governor of Jamaica, Sir Nicholas Lawes, received one coffee plant as a gift from the Governor of Martinique. The plant took root with vigor and only nine years later, in 1737, coffee exportation began with an initial shipment of 83,000 lbs. The coffee industry was born.
Coffee is grown in all parts of the island and at all elevations, however, the finest coffee is the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee which comes from an area on the eastern side of the island, just north of Kingston in the Blue Mountains known, appropriately enough, as the Blue Mountain Region. Coffee grown outside the this Region is referred to as Jamaican High Mountain, which is comparable in body and balance but tends to be a bit more acidic to the refined tastes of the connoisseur. Lower grown Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is referred to as Blue Mountain Valley coffee, which is medium bodied, delicate to bland in flavor and rather rich in acid. Many coffee brands from Jamaica claim their product is Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee but in fact may be a High Mountain or even a Blue Mountain Valley variety and is only milled within the boundaries of the Blue Mountain Region.
True Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is full-bodied, moderately acidy and richly complex, though occasionally marred by a slight mustiness, which is characteristic of many Caribbean coffees.
The market has had its share of setbacks from worker shortages around the turn of the 20th century to the complete shut down of production for two years due to hurricane devastation in 1988.
In 1944 the government established the Central Coffee Clearing House, where all coffee bound for export was cleaned, inspected and graded, in an attempt to raise the standard of their coffee. In 1950 the coffee growers established their own governing body, the Jamaican Coffee Industry Board, to improve and maintain the quality and reputation of the coffee. The JCIB successfully accomplished its goal through setting and enforcing standards for growing, harvesting, processing and marketing of its product. Today, it is known for its high-quality. Annual production stands around 6,600,000 lbs. of which about 85% is exported to Japan. The remaining 15% is distributed mostly between the U.S. and the U.K. gourmet specialty markets where it can fetch up to US$40/lb.
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