That Magic Brew

Is there something mystical to the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee or simply the right factors aligning to create an exceptional product consistently?

Transcript

You may find this hard to believe but there are a considerable number of foods – pineapple, banana, guava, yam, papaya, jackfruit, mango, etc. that are grown in Jamaica and are staples of the Jamaican diet but were not indigenous to the island.  The coffee plant is on this list of transplants that ‘come from foreign’ and thrived.  The story of Jamaican coffee can be traced back to Ethiopia by way of France, indirectly that is.  Let me explain, in 1723 France’s King Louis XV had three Arabica Typica coffee plants sent to the island of Martinique, a French colony at the time.  It is through Martinique that the Caribbean is first introduced to coffee though the Arabica Typica is a subspecies of coffee that originated in southwestern Ethiopia.  Jacques Charles de Bochard de Noray de Champigny, the Governor of Martinique in turn gifted the Governor of Jamaica, Sir Nicholas Lawes, a coffee plant of his own in 1728.  Most of the coffee plants in Jamaica are said to have descended from that first Arabica Typica coffee plant introduced to the island.  Centuries later Jamaica is renowned for producing high quality, in demand, coffee that is one of the most expensive in the world.

Welcome to Small Excellence where I discuss various nations around the world.  I'm your host Ngai.  If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share.  Also take a look at the Small Excellence website at www.smallexcellence.com; that address again is www. S m a l l e x c e l l e n c e .com.  This season we are speaking about my homeland, Jamaica.  In this episode, I will be discussing Jamaican coffee and more specifically Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee which has a level of notoriety in the world; it’s the country’s caffeinated ambassador.

There are many factors that make Jamaican coffee so exceptional.  First on the list is the soil.  There are two conflicting narratives on the type of soil involved in Jamaica’s coffee production.  Some sources claim that the soil is nutrient rich while others state the soil has a poor nutrient status and is characterized as having a more sediment type texture.  I am no expert, but I have hiked and camped in the Blue Mountains, so I am familiar with the landscape and recall the soil possessing a more substantial texture than sediment.  While anecdotal, I have seen how deep and lush the Blue Mountain’s blue green forestry is and am more inclined to believe that the soil is nutrient rich.

Jamaica’s land mass was formed by prehistoric volcanic activity resulting in nutrient rich soil.  According to Jamaica’s Agricultural Land Management Division (ALMD), "there are 176 different soil types in Jamaica, with each having a unique combination of characteristics such as colour, texture, natural fertility, soil properties [and so on] …with the most prominent soil types being Bonnygate Stony Loam and St. Ann Clay Loam (https://almdjm.com/fyi.html).  Bonnygate Stony Loam has no agricultural potential and is mostly related to bauxite soil.  The clay loam soil on the other hand consists of a balanced mixture of sand, silt and clay and is ideal for growing.  “The sand grains prevent the soil from compacting, so it drains well and helps oxygen reach the plant roots. The extra spaces between the sand attract worms and microorganisms. The silt helps the sand and clay mix together and holds moisture… The clay…is [also] negatively charged, which attracts positively charged nutrients like calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium” (https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/loam-garden-soil/) which are important in plant growth.  As for the sources that state the soil is nutrient poor, especially in phosphorus and nitrogen; this lack of nutrients apparently causes the coffee cherries to mature more slowly, and in turn influences the flavor profile of the coffee positively. Your guess is as good as mine as to which narrative nutrient rich soil vs. nutrient poor soil is right.

Second, as a tropical island Jamaica receives about 78 inches of rainfall annually, though this average is higher in certain parts of the island such as the Northeastern slopes of the Blue Mountains which receive between 118 to 196 inches of rainfall annually. The typical temperature ranges from a seasonal low of 26°C or 78°F in cooler months to a high of 32°C or 91°F in the warmer months, while the hours of sunshine are fairly consistent throughout the year, averaging about 8 hours daily.” (https://courses.washington.edu/tesc243/jamaica/index_files/page0005.htm#:~:text=Climate&text=We%20find%20that%20Jamaica%20falls,annual%20rainfall%20of%2078%20inches.).  This combination makes the growing season quite long, from April through November.

Finally, altitude plays an essential role in coffee production.  The topography of Jamaica is rugged and nearly half of the island’s surface is more than 1,000 feet or 300 meters above sea level. This altitude serves as a natural way of regulating the temperature yields.  All three of these factors contribute to what is a first-rate product.

Alright, because we jumped ahead from the first imported coffee plant to Jamaican coffee being coveted, I’m going to circle back around to coffee’s history in Jamaica.  From 1800 to 1840, Jamaica led the world in coffee production averaging 70,000 tons per year.  However, shortly after the abolition of slavery on the island in 1838 coffee inventory plummeted as the land of previous coffee plantations was reallocated to the newly freed people who were growing crops for themselves.  By the 1890s Jamaica’s coffee industry was in shambles.  Government intervention in the form of laws providing guidance on farming and harvesting were necessary for the industry to course correct.  Experts were even provided to ensure that the initiatives were                put into practice.  Quality control became the focus of the next 50 years.  It culminated in the formation of a Central Clearing House for coffee exports in 1944 followed by the establishment of the Jamaican Coffee Industry Board (JCIB) in 1950.  The JCIB was tasked with upholding the quality and reputation of the Jamaican coffee industry.  In 2018 the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) was formed from an amalgamation of the JCIB and other Jamaican regulatory organizations.  JACRA along with the Ministry of Agriculture assumed the duties of ensuring that the coffee standards remained exceptional.

Now, what is interesting is while Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is famous for its sweet aroma, low acidity, lack of bitterness and rich flavor it is not a singular coffee brand but instead a certification granted to growers and processors based on several criteria which must be met in tandem.  Coffee companies both foreign and domestic can be 100% certified Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee once the strict specifications are met.  The most obvious criteria is that it is grown in the Blue Mountains.  It is also required to be grown at a high altitude, ranging between 3,000 and 5,500 feet above sea level.  As per Jamaica’s Coffee Industry Regulation Act only the parishes of St. Thomas, St. Mary, Portland and St. Andrew are designated growing sites.  Further specifications include a defect count which considers the bean’s size, shape, moisture content with a maximum of 12.5% and color along with the coffee being wet processed.  In addition, Jamaica signed a multilateral agreement sponsored by the Japanese in 2008 concerning testing for pesticide and chemical agent residues to a standard significantly beyond the international phytosanitary levels requested by either the European Union or other European countries.  Globally coffee production averages 19 billion pounds per year.  Jamaica in comparison produces 5 million pounds of coffee annually which equates to less than 1% of the world’s yield.  Coupled with 65 to 80% of the harvest being exported to Japan alone, this makes the Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee elusive and luxurious.

Coffee manufacturing is very labor-intensive in all the stages of its production, processing, and sales.  There are additional considerations with growing coffee at high altitudes such as safety; even the harvesting is done by hand due to the steepness of the slopes which can be as much as 60 degrees.  The Jamaican coffee industry employs approximately 120,000 people: making this an important contributor to the economy.  As such, if any of the large processors get into trouble the government makes a concerted effort to help them.  Until recently the government owned the two largest coffee producers on the island, Wallenford and Mavis Bank. The Coffee Industry Development Company is directly responsible for Coffee production. It also assists farmers who own at least 2 ½ acres dedicated to the growing of coffee.  Between Blue Mountain and High Mountain Coffee there are about 10,000 coffee growers in Jamaica. The average farmer produces 166 lbs. of green coffee annually. Each tree produces one to two pounds of green coffee, this means that the farms are quite small.  The small farmers sell their coffee in 60lb boxes of cherries to larger processors which are then processed into 12 lbs. boxes of green coffee that will yield 9.6 lbs. of roasted coffee.  

Despite this dedication and the strict controls related to the cultivation of coffee on the island, Jamaica cannot be considered a country with a robust coffee culture; pun intended.  We’re more tea drinkers, the influence of British culture no doubt.  Nonetheless Jamaica is proud of its prestigious position in the coffee world.                                    

I hope that you have garnered some knowledge from this episode. Walk good, my friends.