How Do You Identify Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee?
• Know where it’s grown. True to its name, the Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is grown in the Blue Mountain region of Jamaica, in between Kingston mostly in the south and Port Maria in the north. Rising to 7,500 m, the Blue Mountain is the highest point in the Caribbean. The region consists of a cold, damp and dark, fertile soil and good drainage, providing ideal conditions for growing coffee. Although coffee is not native to Jamaica, it’s the island’s main export item. • Note the requirements before the coffee can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain. The Coffee Board of Jamaica must certify each bag of coffee beans as having high quality. The Council recognizes that the grain raised in some communities in Jamaica: St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland and St. Mary’s. • At least 96 percent of the grains are used, they must have the same size and be blue-green. Note how the coffee bean is sized. The Coffee Industry Regulation Act, provides a system of three degrees of Jamaican Blue Mountain base
