Starting with coffee beans (10)-- America-Jamaica

Is Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee the best coffee in the world? Almost everyone who has heard of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee knows that it is the most expensive coffee in the world, but not everyone knows why. Like Rolls-Royce cars and Stradivari violins (Stradivarius Violin), when something gains the reputation of "the best in the world", that reputation tends to make it its own identity and become an eternal myth.

The best Blue Mountain Coffee is undoubtedly one of the best coffees available. Although the price can guarantee the supply of Blue Mountain coffee, it does not guarantee the best flavor of the coffee. It is also worth noting that the coffee is more expensive to drink than it looks. If you want to taste its best flavor, you must put in more coffee beans than when drinking other coffee, otherwise the flavor will not live up to the name, so the real cost of reflecting the flavor is that it has to add 10% to 15% more coffee beans than the coffee whose price is second only to it.

It is said that the real Blue Mountain coffee is made from the best local raw coffee beans, which is the pleasure of tasters. Its flavor is rich, balanced, fruity and sour, and can meet people's various needs. In addition, the flavor of high-quality fresh Blue Mountain coffee is particularly long-lasting, as drinkers say-endless aftertaste.

It is necessary to take a closer look at the myth of Blue Mountain Coffee, because the image of the past is often inconsistent with the reality of today. In 1725, Sir Sir Nicholas Lawes brought the first Blue Mountain Coffee species from Martinique to Jamaica and planted them in the St.Andrew area. Today, St. Andrew is still one of the three major producing areas of Blue Mountain Coffee, while the other two are Portland and St..Thomas. In eight years, Jamaica exported more than 375 tons of pure coffee. In 1932, coffee production reached its peak and more than 15000 tons of coffee was harvested. But by 1948, the quality of coffee had declined and Canadian buyers refused to renew their contracts, so the Jamaican government set up the Coffee Industry Committee to save the fate of top coffee. By 1969, the situation had improved because the use of Japanese loans had improved the quality of production, thus ensuring the market. Even in 1969, Japanese coffee drinkers were willing to pay insurance for the coffee, but now it has reached the point of fanaticism. By 1981, about 1500 hectares of land in Jamaica had been reclaimed for coffee cultivation, followed by investment in another 6000 hectares of coffee land.

In fact, today's Blue Mountain area is a small area with a planting area of only 6000 hectares, and not all coffee marked "Blue Mountain" can be grown there. Another 12000 hectares of land is used to grow two other types of coffee (non-Blue Mountain Coffee): Alpine Top Coffee (High Mountain Supreme) and Jamaican Coffee (Prime Washed Jamaican).

The real Blue Mountain Coffee is one of the most advantageous coffee growing conditions in the world. The weather, geological structure and topography of Jamaica provide a unique ideal place. The ridge across Jamaica extends to the eastern part of the island, with the Blue Mountains rising to more than 2100 meters. The cool weather, foggy weather and frequent rainfall reconcile the rich land of Rain Water. Here people use mixed planting to grow coffee trees next to banana and avocado trees on terraces. Some small estates also grow Blue Mountain Coffee, such as Wallenford Estate, Silver Hill Estate and Atlanta Estate in J.Martinez. Even the largest landowners in the region are small-scale growers by international standards, many of whom are small landowners whose families have been working on the land for two centuries.

The coffee industry in Jamaica faces a series of problems, such as the impact of hurricanes, the increase in labor costs and the difficulty of mechanizing terraces. It is difficult to rationalize planting on many small estates and farms. However, Blue Mountain Coffee is one of those coffee retailers that value credibility to stock some coffee no matter what. A leading British retailer said: regardless of the price, he will continue to sell Blue Mountain coffee all year round because he has many customers who only recognize "Blue Mountain".

Now, 90% of the post-harvest Blue Mountain coffee is bought by the Japanese. In 1992, Jamaica sold 688 tons of Blue Mountain coffee to Japan, 75 tons to the United States and 59 tons to Britain. Now that the rest of the world can only get 10% of the output of Blue Mountain coffee, regardless of the price, blue mountain coffee is always in short supply. In the UK, Langford Brothers Brothers has been the only supplier for many years. Later, the Edmunds Group (Edmonds Group) also received supplies from Jamaica's Salda Food Company (Salda Foods).

The difference in transportation between Blue Mountain Coffee and other coffee is that it is transported in barrels with a capacity of 70 kilograms, a replica of Bonifieur barrels produced in Guadeloupe in the last century. The barrel was originally used to carry flour shipped from the United Kingdom to Jamaica, usually with a trademark and the name of the manufacturer. The Coffee Industry Council issues certificates for all authentic Jamaican coffee and bears a stamp of approval before export.

China Coffee Trading Network: www.gafei.com