The truth about James Bond’s favourite coffee - Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee

What is so special about Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee?

Well, to start it is one of the world’s only completely bitterness FREE coffee, it has zero bitterness and is
certified premium - produced on some the most idyllic tropical climates in the world.

Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is one of the best coffees in the world

Sometimes the history of something special and small, is inexplicitly tied up with the story of something massive and more ordinary. Everyone knows that Brazil is the world’s biggest producer of coffee. But did you know that a long time ago Jamaica held that title? Just a year after Brazil planted its first ever coffee tree, Jamaica started producing coffee. It wasn’t long before Jamaica became synonymous with this magical little bean. By 1800 it would grow more coffee than anywhere else on the globe and for almost forty years no other country could rival it. What is even more astonishing is that this was accomplished over such a small parcel of land. The whole area of Jamaica is a little under 11,000 square kilometers or about half the size of Wales.

The genesis of the Jamaica blue mountain coffee production

The Governor of Martinque blessed Jamaica with its’ first ever coffee plant. The tree was sent as a gift in 1728 to Sir Nicolas Lawes, the then Governor of Jamaica. Nine years after this first tree was planted, the earliest exports of Jamaican coffee on record took place. It wasn’t long before the fledgling coffee industry would boom. By 1752 Jamaica was exporting over 30 tons of coffee! Originally the Jamaican coffee industry was largely run by a small group of estate farmers. However, after the abolishment of slavery in 1807, Jamaican locals were finally free to farm and grow coffee on their own terms. In the early days, all of these coffees were grown in the area known as St Andrew. But this is not name you might have heard of. The multiple growing regions of coffee around the mountains in Jamaica’s Blue Mountains mean that there are several type of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee grown. The range can be from some of the best coffee in Jamaica to some that is medium quality, however, most retain the iconic smoothness this coffee is famed for.

The legal requirement of producing Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

The Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee we all know and love comes from the Blue Mountains. And while Jamaica’s coffee industry has diminished in size since the 19th century, the desire to enjoy beautiful cups of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee has never faded. Defined and protected by law, the Blue Mountains covers just the Eastern tip of Jamaica. In order to be certified as Blue Mountain coffee, the coffee has to come from the Parishes of St Andrew, St Mary, St Thomas or Portland and must be grown at or above 900 meters above sea level. The whole area of the Blue Mountains is so small there are single farms in Brazil are larger! Regarding the usage of the term Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, it is legally enforced and formally a trademark, usage of which comes by way of permission from the Jamaica Coffee board. Licenses are required to use the term Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee commercially. JACRA - the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority’s coffee division are also involved in the protection of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee.

Almost a hundred years after small holder farmers began producing Jamaica’s coffee, the country passed new legislated to help spread knowledge about how coffee can be better produced; further cementing its’ position as one of the world’s greatest producers of luxury coffee. A new centralized system for grading and processing the coffee was then put in place. Then on the 2nd June 1950 the Jamaican Coffee Board was formed. These days, this Board strictly controls the exports of Jamaican coffee. Ensuring that nothing but true Blue Mountain coffee is sold under that name. The Coffee Board divides the coffee producing areas up into four regions: Northern, Eastern, Central and Western. Blue Mountain coffees come from the Eastern region. Japan holds the record for securing most of the Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, in fact it procures around 80% of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee. That means, 80% of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee produced in Jamaica immediately goes to Japan. Not only are Japan a coffee loving nation, their airlines are too, because Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is served on Japan Air, or at least prior to the Pandemic it was available during flights. Furthermore, the booming specialty coffee scene in Japan only adds to the lure of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee and suggest that their coffee renaissance will mean more interest in Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee and other luxury range coffees as they strive to find better ways to brew and extract fantastic flavours.

Our commitment to roasting authentic Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

Here at Boun Beans we are proud to work with some of the best producers of Jamaican coffee. These highly coveted, luxurious coffees are extremely difficult to source and we put a lot of time and effort into getting the best Blue Mountain coffee we can. These coffees were favoured by Ian Flemming himself and we can fully imagine that James Bond would have drank coffee like this. Extremely rare, of the highest quality and pedigree, we are thrilled to offer great Blue Mountain coffees to you. We only select authentic, certified and Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee with farmers required to produce these documents prior to shipping the barrels to us. The Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee we secure from farmers arrives to us in the iconic wooden and metal ring coffee barrel, a testament to the uniqueness of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee brand and the rigours involved in both the production and packaging of the blue mountain coffee.

The iconic Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee barrel

This is part of the authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee experience - receiving it in the barrel. They are handmade and manually crafted. The come in different sizes - 15kg, 30kg & 70kg. Each will contain genuine raw Blue Mountain coffee packed in green grainpro bags. As you open the coffees, you can sometimes see a blue hue to the raw green beans, but most impressive is the aromas that shoot out upon bursting open a bag. Yes! you can even pick up some taste note aromas from the raw coffee!