Jamaican Blue Mountain Gr. 1 – Jamaica Coffee Growers Association

Description

A very nice & fresh chop of Gr. 1 certified Jamaican Blue Mountain!

This barrel comes from the Jamaican Coffee Growers Association, which is a group of small holders that broke off the major mill systems to produce better coffee with more money funneling down the the farmers themselves, a very cool idea. It is actually run by our buddy Arthur McGowan. Since we have been dealing in JBM coffee, we have seen the major mills start producing sub-par JBM. Which is why you no longer see Mavis Banks offerings on the list. We have been sticking with single farm (Flamstead and Arthur) JBM to insure top quality chops but couldn’t help but to grab a barrel of this very nice aggregate once we checked it out.

All Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee must be certified by the coffee industry board of Jamaica. The regulations are very strict and much of the coffee is rejected.

Have questions? We have answers! Check out our Jamaican Blue Mountain blog here:
Q&A On The World’s Best Coffee: Jamaican Blue Mountain

Tasting Notes:
Best at a strong medium to borderline dark roast. A wonderfully complex cup of coffee. Lower acidity but can have a bit of lemony brightness upfront at lighter roasts. Soft edges on this cup with a chocolate/nutty/caramel darker tone. Lighter roasts accentuate the more nutty floral sweeter like tones, but can come off a bit woody tasting. Medium you start getting more nutty/chocolate like tones with hints of caramel. Darker gets pretty chocolaty but remain complex. Complex earthy tones overlap as the cup cools, almost reminiscent of a nice scotch.

Roasting Notes:
I would avoid the light roast mark, although the acidity and nuttiness do balance, it can come off as slightly woody with more exotic tones developing when pushing it further. Going to a city plus to right before 2nd crack seems like the sweet spot – we slow down the roast a little to convert some of that lemony acidity and woody tone into a hint of caramel.