The Cultural History of the Blue Mountain Coffee in Jamaica

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 Committee will issue certificates for all authentic Jamaican coffee and affix a seal of approval before export. 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 east of the island, and the Blue Mountains are more than 2100 meters high. The cool weather, foggy weather and frequent rainfall reconcile the rich land of Rain Water. Here people use a mixed planting method to plant coffee trees next to banana trees and alligator pear trees in 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