Jamaica Blue Mountain - Fire roasted; Single source; Freshly harvested

[David18]

good question, Rose. I was going to ask the same thing. Jamaican blue mountain coffee is very good coffee, but it is matter of how long it has been since it got roasted, whether they have sorted out all the defectives (not to spoil the cups), roasted properly by expert roasters...etc

This coffee is fresher than anything in a store in the US. Expert roasters? I urge you to find the National Geographic article - I would post the link but I don't think I am supposed to that.

 

[topher]

Please do send a link. No offence but how is it that your "fire roasted" coffee is more fresh than anything we can produce state side? I buy green...roast and sell. You buy green roast and ship. Coffee stays fresh a long time green but once its roasted it starts to go stale.

 

[David18]

Correct me if I am wrong, but if it is authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee (unblended), then it I assume it passed through the hands of the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica and was certified as a result. From research I did a few years back, I recall that the CIB takes place in evaluating and grading lot samples in order to ensure the standard of BMC quality is upheld. Anything uncertified, would fall into the category of "high" and "low" mountain coffee, correct?

Ensoluna, no jab intended here, but could you please define what an expert roaster is? Sounds to me like labeling an "expert" is entirely subjective and I would like to understand more on where you are coming from.

On a closing note, suite case coffee for sale sounds sketchy, IMO. I like giving away coffee after my trips.

First - I guess it is all what you consider a blend to be. Authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, certified by the Coffee Industry Board (CIB) is itself a blend of coffees grown within the legal geographic definition of "Blue Mountains". The coffee I represent is exclusively from the Hon. James Dennis Coffee Estate - exclusive single source. Does Ras Hopeton use the same list of criteria that the CIB does? Truthfully I have no idea. And that is the point of this coffee. James Dennis' father started the farm in 1919, his son Ras Hopeton runs the farm today. Three generations, 95 years of growing and processing coffee by hand. I think they know something about coffee and bring a very unique approach to coffee production. I also happen to think that their experience results in a unique coffee.

Second - To start I refer you to Ensoluna's comments in general about certifications - while they provide some info, there is a lot they don't. They are useful up to a point but after that they can divert attention from other worthwhile factors. As far as I can figure out, The Hon. James Dennis Coffee Estate has been an independent operation since it's inception. It is purposely not registered with the CIB. It does not sell to the Japanese corporate buyers that seek to control Blue mountain coffee. (I have seen them come to the farm.) The farm is located in a place called Section, in the parish of Portland, on the north side of the Blue Mountains. It is within the Blue Mountain Coffee designated area. While this coffee does not come with a CIB logo, it does tell you something that most CIB coffee does not - specifically where and when it was grown. I also venture to say that it is fresher than anything available in the US or at a store in Jamaica with a CIB logo. Commercial Blue Mountain coffee beans are often held in storage - when you buy Jablum or other commercial brands, you have no idea if the beans are from within the year and the roasting and grinding are months old.
A few points about about the Jamaican coffee industry and the CIB. The coffee industry in Jamaica was formalized by the colonial government in 1948 in a piece of law called the Coffee Industry Regulation Act. I am not sure of the history of the CIB before 1948 but I do know that the 1948 Act set it in motion with lots of legal authority. As with most colonial law, the Act heavily favors those in power and is designed to retain that power. While the law has changed slightly, it is still the architect and builder of the current system. The coffee system in Jamaica is designed to limit the individual farmer as much as possible by seriously limiting the farmers' selling opportunities. An extreme example is that it is a criminal offense - not civil - to buy / sell more than 100 pounds of coffee without a license - a license that has until recently has been all but impossible to get. While recently more licenses have been issued it is still an extremely tightly held process more reminiscent of the Soviet Union than any attempt to let farmers get their product to market.
So if you are interested in coffee that is ground and roasted months ago in a corporate pipeline based on colonial control and is blended to create what somebody has decided is the "taste", the commercial Blue Mountain Coffee brands have it covered. But please don't tell me that defines Blue Mountain Coffee. Read the National Geographioc article - this coffee farm is the real thing. I didn't say that - National Geographic did.
As far as your opinions about sketchyness, if you research Jamaican coffee you will realize that already a certain amout of it is smuggled out of the country - in fact for a small grower that has been the primary available method. Don't worry - it filled the suitcase, no dirty clothes. As far as selling - on EBay I am 100%, nothing sketchy there. And I have been giving away Jamaican coffee for 35 years so I really don't see what that has to do with it.

 

[David18]

Please do send a link. No offence but how is it that your "fire roasted" coffee is more fresh than anything we can produce state side? I buy green...roast and sell. You buy green roast and ship. Coffee stays fresh a long time green but once its roasted it starts to go stale.

This is the address to the National Geographic article - you are a super moderator so I guess I will not get told I did something wrong - Jamaica's Blue Mountain Coffee - National Geographic Adventure Magazine

If I follow your question - if you roast the beans here, as opposed to getting them roasted from Jamaica - yes, in fact your roast will be fresher. No problem, we agree. What I am referring to is the beans themselves. Yes beans can be stored and that is what it is done with most of them worldwide. It's not that green beans stay "fresh" a long time - I think that 1. green beans "get stale" at a slow rate - much much slower than roasted beans and 2. fresh beans are not part of most coffee drinkers' experience and even the old ones can taste pretty darn good. But the general idea is that once harvested, all vegetable matter starts to go through changes. Are those changes in coffee noticeable? - see below.

I think fresh beans make a difference though, I base this entirely on my subjective experience yet I also include some scientific stuff. But I rely on my experience. And I have found that when I drink coffee from fresh beans, I taste a difference that I cannot otherwise account for. Maybe I am missing something; at the end of the cup, it is only my taste buds and what I feel from the caffeine and whatever else is in coffee that makes that buzz. In my travels I have found some who also have an interest in the freshness of the bean - two roasteries here in Washington, DC, advertise their beans as fresh - not just the roast.

The point of the fire roast is basically that that is what it is. Is it a difference? Yes I think you can taste the fire. It is only one kind of wood used for roasting - a long and slow burning dense wood. For Ras Hopeton it is not a question of whether to buy a gas or electric roaster - they have been doing it by fire for centuries and that is what it is. At the same time, we are very interested in getting the unroasted beans to the US to let other roasters try out their thing. Not sure I agree with the post about a roaster only being able to roast his own area - very interested in seeing what different roasters do with the beans. We can deliver current harvest beans within a week of the finishing of processing. Coffee harvest in Section is late October, early November until late March, early April.

 

[topher]

I have never roasted with wood...yet. I am planning on experimenting after the first of the year though. I do not sell JBM where I am at now. It doesn't fit into what we are doing. I did sell it at my last place. My boss made us sell it for $40 a half pound. Yes....$80 a lb. Sigh. The thing is even though he was over charging for the coffee, people bought it up like crazy. We sold something like 15 to 20 lbs a day...It was always certified and current crop. I do have to disagree with your statement , "fresh beans are not part of most coffee drinkers' experience and even the old ones can taste pretty darn good." We roast for 21 different locations and ship weekly. Our stores never have more than a weeks coffee on hand to assure freshness. Our customers do know the difference between fresh coffee and not. Saying the average person does not truly know really fresh coffee might have been safe to say 10 years ago but the "average consumer" of speciatly coffee has really evolved. I am looking forward to reading the article...but for now back to the grind.

 

[ensoluna]

it would be easier to convince us if you can provide complete cupping report & score by known and reputable cup taster.
if you can, please scan and attach the original full report. that will really help.
thanks and have a good day.

 

[flowra]

Jamaica Blue Mountains - Whole beans from the Hon. James Dennis Coffee Estate - since 1919
Single source, Freshly harvested, Fire roasted

I currently have available on E-Bay unique whole beans from Jamaica's Blue Mountains. They are from a very independent 95 year old coffee farm on the north side of the Blue Mountains in Section, Portland. There is an article about the farm on the National Geographic web site. All processing is by hand and the beans are fire roasted. My seller name on E-Bay is LionMountainTrading18.

Feel free to send any questions.

Blue Mountains is a famous name for beans collectors. I would say you shared massive details here.

 

[Mr.Peaberry]

Just a note on this conversation...and this is just an opinion...anyone who can't taste the difference between coffee roasted within 7 days of consumption and 7 weeks, has no business drinking JBM, PERIOD! Just sayin'...

 

[ExoticCafe]

it would be easier to convince us if you can provide complete cupping report & score by known and reputable cup taster.
if you can, please scan and attach the original full report. that will really help.
thanks and have a good day.

At the end the report was never shared, right?

 

[ensoluna]

At the end the report was never shared, right?

of course NOT. A lot of people here in this forum are flaky people.
David18's last posting was about a year ago, so I do not expect to hear from him anytime soon.