LINDSBORG- For coffee connoisseurs, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is a name that stands out as one of the world's finest coffees. It is revered as the world's best coffee. Even sophisticated British spy James Bond, in the novel Live and Let Die declared Jamaican “Blue Mountain Coffee - the most delicious in the world”.
Well, a small number of coffee enthusiasts will get an opportunity to find out for themselves if this expensive coffee is all it's cracked up to be. Though the "Blue Mountain" name is steeped in rich history and tradition, with it's origin stemming from one single Arabica plant that arrived on the island from Martinique in 1723 by order of King Louis XV of France, in recent years “t's the Dom Perignon of coffee” according to Mark Galloway, owner and roastmaster at Blacksmith Coffee Roastery in Lindsborg.
Galloway said, “Many coffee drinkers have sipped a “Blue Mountain Blend” or other coffees billing themselves as Blue Mountain, but few have ever enjoyed the real thing. Primarily this is because 90 percent of the authentic Blue Mountain coffee is exported to Japan. Consequently, few Americans have had an opportunity to try this extremely rare coffee. “I usually discourage people from buying coffees billed as Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, because most of the time it's not the 'real' Blue Mountain coffee.” stated Galloway. “We are privileged to have an opportunity this month to acquire 30kg of authentic Mavis Bank Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee and are making it available on a first come, first serve basis to coffee enthusiasts.”
So what's “authentic” Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee and what makes it so special? In a region known or it's towering peaks that rise over 7,000 feet above the blue Caribbean sea, the rich volcanic soil, the warm days and cool nights, seemingly endless cloud cover and abundant (over 200 inches) rainfall converge to produce a coffee bean that matures nearly two times longer (10 months) than most coffees and results in an exceptionally large and complex coffee.
According to Galloway, altitude is critical to the development of the coffee's flavor, but that can be destroyed during processing by insects, moisture and other environmental factors that are present at sea level. “Of Jamaica's four coffee processors, only one still processes it's coffee at 5000 feet. That's Blue Mountain coffee bearing the Mavis Bank mark.
Most of their plantations produce coffee that is grown at altitudes around 5,000 feet. They harvest and process this delicate coffee the traditional way at this altitude too, which is imperative in maintaining its world-class characteristics.”
