Coffee heaven in Jamaica

How good is it? Very good indeed!

Author: By Karl Luntta, Globe Correspondent

Date: SUNDAY, November 23, 1997

Page: M1

Section: Travel

You'd do yourself a favor, as I did recently in the Blue Mountains, by rolling out of bed to meet that dawn. Fire up a pot of coffee, and listen. You'll perhaps hear the distant bark of a harassed dog, or the fragile twittering of a bananaquit as it sits on your porch rail, waiting for a crumb of sugar. A low cooing sound, possibly a patoo, or owl, drifts by in the background, and the voices of schoolchildren engaged in morning chores ascend the mountainside.

Down below, as the Blue Mountains roll toward sea-level Kingston and the mist lifts off the mountainside like steam off a boiled egg, there is movement. A speck of a truck on a thin mountain road sounds its horn to warn approaching drivers as it winds around hairpin curves.

But enough of early morning reveries -- let's talk about that coffee. If you're lucky, your brew will be genuine Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, famous throughout the world as one of the premium coffees on Earth. It is expensive, not easily found in places other than Jamaica, and not easily found on the island, for that matter. It is highly prized by coffee aficionados for its unique flavor. It is enigmatic because of its paucity. And, in the small circles that grow, process, and export it, it is a sometimes controversial cash cow.

Jamaica's craggy and cobalt-tinged Blue Mountains rise like monoliths on the eastern end of the island, forming the interiors of the parishes of St. Andrew, Portland, and St. Thomas. The mountains are in turn dominated by the massive Blue Mountain Peak, Jamaica's tallest pinnacle, rising 7,402 feet above sea level. Small villages and farming communities are nestled in these hills, a place where time seems to have skipped a beat. The Jamaicans who live here are country people, with somewhat simpler lives than Jamaicans who inhabit the towns and tourist-dense coasts.

The Blue Mountains have always been a place of refuge. The Maroons, bands of escaped slaves and their descendants, sought protection in the mountains and used their convoluted topography to wage guerrilla warfare against British colonials during the years of slavery. The earliest Rastafarian communities, which were established in West Kingston in the late 1930s and early 1940s and almost immediately thereafter persecuted by local authorities, retreated to the serenity of the hills with their Bibles and farming equipment. But it was plantation owners who eventually secured for the Blue Mountains their gourmet identity when, early on, they discovered that the growing conditions in the hills were ideal for crops such as cocoa and coffee.

Today, of course, the coffee industry is huge worldwide; the upsurge of coffee bars -- found on almost any major North American, European, and Japanese city street -- has created a demand for designer coffees that remains unabated. Blue Mountain coffee is among the most sought-after of these brews. But what is it about its flavor and essence that inspires such dedication, even rapture, among devotees?

Well, it's damn good coffee, technically speaking of course. The Blue Mountain Coffee fruit, called ``cherry'' in the ripened stage, is arabica tipica, a somewhat delicate and lower-yielding cherry than the more prolific robusta variety that has found its place in the coffee plantations of Central and South America. Yet the arabica is a cherry that, in the proper conditions, produces an extraordinary coffee. The amount of cloud cover, shade, minerals in the soil, and the altitude at which Blue Mountain Coffee is grown all combine to produce a cherry that takes longer to mature than other coffees. Typically, the Blue Mountain cherry stays on the bush three to four months longer than its lower-elevation cousins. This lengthy ripening process acts as sort of a ``pre-brew,'' imbuing the bean with a richer, wider flavor.

``Of course,'' says Norman Grant, the manager of the small Mavis Bank Central Factory coffee processing plant, or pulpery, ``there is also a natural mystique about it. It's given by God. The taste and the mystique, that's what it is about.'' Grant, a fortyish man sporting tiny islands of grey in a sea of black hair is referring to the appeal of Blue Mountain coffee. And to its price. At $40 retail per pound in the United States, and as much as $60 per pound in Japan, this is definitely not your Joe's Diner cup of coffee.

Grant's office at the Mavis Bank pulpery is busy. He answers no less than seven phone calls during our few minutes together, and apologizes copiously for each one. It seems that the coffee crop has been good this year -- in the early months of the 1996-'97 season, Mavis Bank took in some 42,000 bushels of cherries, equaling the entire intake of the previous year. And, in a day in February, Mavis Bank took in 1,000 bushels, a one-day record for the 70-year-old pulpery. Not surprisingly, the smell of brewing coffee wafts through the offices and corridors.

The mystique to which Grant refers has as much to do with the marketing of Blue Mountain Coffee as its other properties. Mavis Bank is one of only four pulperies in the Blue Mountains that are allowed to buy and process ripe cherries for labeling as Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, and is the only pulpery in the Blue Mountains that processes the beans from the cherry stage to the final roasted product. The labeling is regulated by the Coffee Industry Board, a quasi-government statutory agency set up in 1950 to maintain standards of taste and appearance in Blue Mountain Coffee.

The CIB is today the sole exporter of Blue Mountain Coffee and carries out the exportation process on behalf of the various farmers and factories that produce it. The CIB has also regulated, by law since 1973, the area in which true Blue Mountain Coffee can be grown. Of the roughly 30,000 acres of land devoted to coffee production in Jamaica, only 12,000 acres lie within the CIB's boundaries for bona-fide Blue Mountain Coffee, all 2,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level. Coffee grown in other parts of Jamaica, while certainly good quality, is labeled Low Land or High Mountain coffee.

The CIB is not without its detractors, especially larger farmers who criticize its exporting practices and say the board is simply an extra, and expensive ``middle man'' in the marketing process. But small farmers seem to have benefited from the board's knowledge. According to Grant, ``About five to 10 years ago, 60 percent of our coffee came from large farms. Now, small farmers supply about 65 percent of the crop.'' This is seconded by John Martinez, a Jamaican man with a sonorous voice who operates Coffee Traders International Ltd., an Atlanta-based importation company that specializes in Blue Mountain Coffee. ``It is still very much a small farming operation. Typically, farmers who bring the cherries to the factories work 1 to 5 acres.''

Indeed, this is evident as I drive through winding Blue Mountain roads in the cool of early evening. Interspersed among the jagged green hills and exotic flora is the occasional house or small settlement, with wisps of smoke rising from kitchen fires. And along the sides of the road are farmers, not so fresh from a day's work, standing by plastic bags filled with ripe, red cherry berries. They are waiting for a truck from the Mavis Bank pulpery to come by and pick up the crop, for which they'll be paid later.

Evan Cambridge, a tired-looking man covered in blue overalls and dust, with a machete in his hand, is squatting by 10 bags of coffee, or, in the parlance of the coffee industry, about five bushels. Cambridge is the supervisor of Stitchill, a small farm owned by a physician down in Kingston. At 37, he's been working coffee farms for more than 10 years. I ask him where the farm is and he points down the hill. The bushes spring out of a steep incline that may be as much as 45 degrees. Cambridge supervises six workers in this labor-intensive industry -- since the farms are all located on the sides of mountains, harvesting or fertilizing machinery is rarely employed.

``Yeah, mon, I like it. I do drink it,'' he says. ``I make it de ol' way, roast de bean over fire, mash it up'' -- and here he makes the gesture of a mortar and pestle -- ``an' I boil it. Best coffee in de worl'.'' How so? I ask. ``De air,'' he says. ``De soil. See, lowlan' coffee start ripe aroun' January. When lowlan' coffee finish, up here jus' start to ripe. Make it strong ripe.''

Apparently, the Japanese like strong ripe, too. They are simply mad about the stuff. How mad? Well, in Japan, you can buy brewed 100 percent Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, chilled, in cans, out of vending machines. Call it a cultural difference. But, for reasons that are both business-related and obscure, Japan has over the years become the number one importer of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. Some 90 percent of the total crop is exported to that small country, while a mere 5 percent is exported to North America, and about 2 percent to Europe. The rest is consumed in Jamaica. With an estimated crop of 1.4 million pounds of processed beans projected for 1997, that's a lot of java in Japan.

Putting aside its exotic origins and high prices, the central question remains: How good is Blue Mountain Coffee? I drink a lot of coffee and, like many North Americans, often consider it simply a step between brushing my teeth and packing the kids off to school. I am not, in other words, a coffee expert. At Strawberry Hill, however, I become a convert to the Blue Mountain side.

Strawberry Hill, a small resort located near Irish Town in the Blue Mountain, about 30 minutes from Kingston, is where I'm staying. The resort is the signature property of Chris Blackwell, the Island Records mogul turned hotel magnate, and is his home while in Jamaica. Strawberry Hill snuggles some 3,100 feet up in the Blue Mountains, overlooking the nighttime twinkling lights and daytime haze of Kingston and the Caribbean Sea beyond. Its 12 sparkling white, hillside cottages complement the setting; they're designed in the greathouse architecture of 19th-century Jamaica, and copy the centerpiece of the resort, the estate greathouse that now serves as the restaurant. Indeed, the resort just won a 1997 Governor General's Award for excellence in architecture. The rooms come with louvered windows, reproduction antique furniture, and luxe four-poster beds.

Since the 26-acre estate was once a coffee and fruit plantation -- hence the name -- and today maintains about 8 acres of coffee, drinking the stuff up here seems fitting, sort of like completing the circle.

Blue Mountain Coffee is, at the tip of the tongue, slightly sweet and mellow, with a tempered acidity. The overall experience, from aroma to sip to swallow, is rounded, and there is a brief hint of woodiness to it. I'm told that the best way to drink it is medium -- that is, a medium roast and medium grind. That might be true, but I tend to grind my coffee fine and jam the filter, brewing coffee that'd raise even Michael Jackson's voice another register. No problem: Blue Mountain Coffee holds its own this way.

But what, I wonder, of its cost? At $40 per pound in the States and about half that in Jamaica, is this the sort of coffee I'd leave cooling on the dresser while I look for a clean shirt? ``Ahh,'' says the whiskey-voiced John Martinez, ``Think of it in real terms.'' He does the math for me: A pound yields about 64 good cups of coffee, and at $40, this comes to about 63 cents per cup. Cheaper than a soft drink, and, let's face it, without the sodium benzoate.

``But it's the grand dame of coffees,'' Martinez continues, chiding me just a bit. ``And at that price, it is man's most affordable luxury.'' Well said. And now if you'll excuse me, I've got a steaming cup sitting on the kitchen table, and grand dames don't like to be kept waiting.

Pine Grove Guest House is nestled in the hills on a 23-acre plantation, some 3,500 feet up with a perfect view of Kingston, especially at night when the town lights up. The 17 rooms are suite style and comfortable. The style of the guesthouse is also quiet. The rooms are $70 to $80 US yearround. Write to 62 Duke Street, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies; or call 1-876-977-8009; or fax 1-876-977-8001.

Crowne Plaza Kingston, a new and spiffy hotel in the northern outskirts of the city, provides easy access to the Blue Mountains and coffee country. Crowne Plaza is the high-end line of the Holiday Inns chain, and has many amenities. Rack rates start at about $100 US (weekend rate) for a deluxe room. Write to 211A Constant Springs Road, Kingston 8, Jamaica, West Indies; or call toll-free 1-800-618-6534 or, in Jamaica, 1-876-925-7674; or fax 876-925-5757.

Lynda Lee Burks's Touring Society of Jamaica specializes in ``cultural tours'' of the area. Burks will customize excursions to suit your needs, and will also suggest tours including coffee plantation walks, birding excursions, art tours, architecture expeditions, garden visits, nature hikes, and more. Burks's tours are contemplative, quiet, and small. Write to her at PO Box 118, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, West Indies; or call 1-876-974-5831, fax 1-876-974-5830, e-mail llburks(at sign)toj.com.

Take an organized stroll through the Mavis Bank Central Factory to discover everything about processing, grading, roasting, and exporting coffee beans. At the end of the tour, buy a few bags of Blue Mountain Coffee -- you won't find it cheaper anywhere. Tours run Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., and admission is $5. Call 1-876-977-8013.

The Blue Mountain Downhill Bicycle Tour takes riders on a coasting, slow ride that is downhill all the way from a point in the mountains to the north coast. The 2 1/2-hour tour stops frequently at small villages, waterfalls, and rest areas for photos. The cost of $78-$95 per person includes the bike, all gear, brunch, lunch, the guide, and hotel pickup and drop-off. Write to 152 Main Street, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, West Indies; or call 1-876-974-7075, fax 1-876-974-0635, e-mail bmtours(at sign)infochan.com.

If you're lunching on your own, stop in at the Gap Cafe at Hardwar Gap, a few miles up the road from Strawberry Hill. The small restaurant sits in an old plantation house, and the views of the mountains and Kingston below are breathtaking. Specialties are crab back, blue marlin on toast, fried fish and bammy or fried fish and festival, jerk chicken with callaloo, Rasta pasta, and sandwiches. The Gap Cafe is open Tuesday-Thursday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Friday-Sunday until 6 p.m., and major credit cards are accepted. Call 1-876-977-3032.