Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee

Jamaica coffee is universally regarded as one of the best in the world.

We went to Jamaica to visit a plantation of the famous Blue Mountain coffee at Mr.. McGowan di Trumpet Tree Coffee Factory.

Blue Mountain coffee is grown in Jamaica since 1728 when the first seedling arrived from the neighboring island of Martinique as a gift to Governor Sir Nicholas Lawes. From that moment it became one of the most prized and sought after coffee by connoisseurs.

The Blue Mountain arise at 2256 meters above sea level in the eastern part of the island and are among the highest mountains in the Caribbean. The name Blue Mountain it is given to the mountain by fog and lush vegetation which gives it a greenish blue tinge. E’ just the fog together with the big rains and the nitrogen-rich soil, phosphorus and potassium which make them an ideal place for growing coffee. In Jamaica all the plantations are of the Arabica variety of which most are of the subspecies called Typica. Not all coffee grown in Jamaica can bear the name Blue Mountain. The ministry of agriculture and the Coffee Industry Board have established guidelines to protect and protect the quality of this coffee, among which only that which grows at an altitude between 600 ed i 1600 meters in the districts of St. Andrew, St. Thomas and Portland will be sold as Blue Mountain 100%. These high altitudes play a fundamental role in the production of denser beans that translate into coffee cups richer in flavors and aromas.

We met one of the producers of the famous coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain, Mr. Arthur McGowan owner of Trumpet Tree Coffee Factory. Mr. McGowan founded the company in 2014 a Constitution Hill, St Andrew. But in truth the first approach with coffee took place after the father's death in 1996. At first Arthur started growing coffee plants left by his father on a family plot in the town of Chatsworth. In addition to the existing ones, many others were planted, with great difficulty the production of coffee began and the first customers from abroad arrived. When the space was no longer sufficient, a new area had to be sought to expand the plantation and purchase new machinery, Thus was born the Trumpet Tree Coffee Factory.

Nowadays, Mr. McGowan owns two plantations of Jamaica Blue Mountain in the Mavis Bank District and three others in Constitution Hill where the base of the activity is also located, it also collaborates with other farmers in the surrounding areas. After the coffee harvest, which can take place from August to March depending on the areas and altitude, the drupes are brought to Constitution Hill to be processed. The coffee beans still enclosed in the cherry are placed in a mechanical pulverizer and subsequently washed to remove the mucilage. After washing, the coffee beans are dried on raised trays or in rotary dryers and finally stored in a humidity controlled room for no less than eight weeks, waiting to be selected by sieve. Finally, the coffee must be packed in order to be sent, but only the best beans will be packed in the famous wooden barrels. The remainder will be toasted and sold on the domestic market under the name of Riddim Blue. Most of the coffee is exported to the USA, China, Japan, Korea and Europe, in Italy, distribution is entrusted to the company Best Coffee Srl.

Jason Flynn is the operational manager of Trumpet Tree Coffee and has invited us to a tasting of Jamaica Blue Mountain. The method chosen by Jason for the preparation is the V60, since it allows you to better extract the aromatic notes of coffee. We have noticed aromas of flowers and hints of chocolate and nuts with very few hints of bitterness and a slight acidity.

If you are a coffee lover and happen to Jamaica do not miss the guided tour of the Trumpet Tree Coffee Factory, Mr. McGowan and his staff will explain the history of coffee in Jamaica to you, the different stages of cultivation and how a plantation is managed. Afterwards the plants for the pulping will be shown, coffee drying and roasting.