History of Jamaican Coffee
The history of Jamaican coffee begins half a world away in France in 1723 when King Louis XV sent three coffee plants to the French colony of Martinique, some 1200 miles to the SW of Jamaica. Five 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, the export of coffee has begun with an initial shipment of 83,000 pounds. The Jamaican coffee industry was born.
coffee plants thrive in natural potassium, nitrogen and soil rich in phosphoric acid in Jamaica. Coffee trees prefer high altitudes and fits perfectly on mountain slopes that are otherwise unsuitable for other agricultural initiatives, such as sugarcane, bananas, cocoa and citrus, none of which, interestingly, are native to the island still viable the economy of Jamaica.
coffee is grown in all parts of the island and in all heights, however, the finest Jamaican coffee comes from an area on the east side, north of Kingston Blue Mountains known, appropriately enough, as the Blue Mountain Region. Grown outside the region of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is known as High Mountain, which is comparable to the body and balance, but tends to be somewhat 'more acidic to the refined taste of the connoisseur. Low coffee grown coffee are referred to as Blue Mountain Valley, are medium-bodied, delicate flavor, rather bland and full of acid.
many brands of coffee Jamaican claim their product is Jamaican Blue Mountain, but in reality may be a Jamaican High Mountain or even a variety of Blue Mountain Valley, and only worked within the confines of the Blue Mountain Region.
True Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is full bodied, moderately acidic and rich complexity, though at times marked by a slight mildew, which is characteristic of Many coffee Caribbean.
The Jamaican coffee market has had its share of setbacks from worker shortages in the late 20th century to a complete halt in production for two years because of the devastation of hurricanes in 1988. At first, the export of coffee from Jamaica, Canada was the largest consumer with more than 60% of all coffee exports bound for this country. In 1943 the Canadian government declared the quality of Jamaican coffee unacceptable and stopped all imports.
In 1944, the Jamaican Government established the Café Central Clearing House where all coffee bound for export was cleaned, checked and evaluated in an attempt to increase the level of Jamaican coffee. In 1950 the Jamaican coffee farmers established their own governing body, the Jamaican Coffee Industry Board, to improve and maintain the quality and reputation of Jamaican coffee.
The JCIB has successfully completed its objective through the establishment and enforcement of standards for growing, harvesting, processing and marketing of its products. Today, Jamaican coffee is known for its high quality. Annual production of Jamaican coffee is about 6,600,000 pounds. of which about 85% is exported to Japan. The remaining 15% is distributed largely between the U.S. and the UK gourmet specialty markets where you can recover up to U.S. $ 40/lb.
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Randy works with his son on <a href="http://www.ultimate-coffees-info.com"> Ultimate Coffee Info </ a>. Randy owned and operated a successful shop / mailorder business 1988-2003. Currently full time owner / operator of several online businesses.
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