The coffee is checked for bean size, acidity and smoothness.”Ĭhallenges facing smaller Jamaican coffee farms include inability to purchase bean sorting machinery or other processing equipment. It’s one of the island’s biggest exports. “The government (of Jamaica) regulates Blue Mountain coffee to make sure it’s authentic. Some companies try to pass off coffee as Blue Mountain even it’s not. It was a very humbling experience.”īlue Mountain coffee is a unique, sought after coffee, and Bent notes that it has a lot of imitators. “The farmers made one of the best scratch-made meals I had ever had, with fresh fruit, lemonade, coffee-straight from the farm, of course-fresh fish caught earlier that day, and breadfruit (a tropical fruit that tastes like an artichoke or a potato, depending on the maturity) roasted on a campfire. In 2021, Bent had the opportunity to tour the coffee farm from where he sources coffee. I wanted to make sure the money is going directly into the Jamaican economy.” “Some Jamaican coffee farms are getting bought up by businesses in Japan and Europe. He was then able to source coffee from an approved list of farmers and shippers.īent was adamant on making sure he worked with small family farms so revenue would go directly to the Jamaican economy. “Through JACRA, I researched what was involved with becoming an exporter of the bean and went through whole qualification process, which took about six months,” Bent explains. To start Jamaican Fair Trade, Bent worked with the Jamaican Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA), the Jamaican statutory body that regulates, promotes and standardizes the country’s agricultural commodities such as cocoa, coffee, coconut and spices. My parents grew up in the poorer parts of Jamaica, and I wanted to do something to give back to their economy and help the small farmers.” Helping Jamaican Farmers “Many tourists that visit Jamaica just go to the beaches and luxurious resorts that Americanize the Jamaican culture. “My biggest aspiration was to do something to celebrate the culture and help the people of Jamaica,” he says. The cooler, misty climate of the Blue Mountains moderates temperatures and enhances soil and plant health.īent’s parents were born in Jamaica and emigrated to the United States during the late ‘70s. Bent says the coffee is grown in volcanic soil, which helps reduce the acidity and lends to a smooth flavor, with no bitter aftertaste and hints of cocoa in the flavor profile. It’s a great coffee.”īlue Mountain coffee is grown at steep elevations, approximately 2,000 to 5,500 feet, in the Blue Mountain range north of Kingston. “I was like, ‘wow!’ It was smooth, with no bitter aftertaste. When I asked for cream and sugar, the server encouraged me to try it black,” Bent recalls. “I ordered Blue Mountain coffee at a restaurant in Jamaica. There, he tried authentic Blue Mountain coffee, a type of coffee grown in the picturesque Blue Mountain range in Jamaica.

Java was just something he drank with cream and sugar as a pick-me-up while working as a late-night supervisor.īut his outlook on coffee changed approximately eight years ago during a trip to Jamaica for a family wedding. Dave Bent of Jamaican Fair Trade, a coffee import business that specializes in bringing authentic Blue Mountain coffee from Jamaica to the Midwest, had never been much of a coffee aficionado.

Blue mou tain coffee