rantlust

Posted by anupcs on June 18th 2007 in Food & Wine
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When I visited Jamaica last year, I never got the chance to head up to the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains are a far cry from people’s image of Jamaica: beach, sea, reggae, and violent crime. Visible from most of eastern Jamaica, the cool, verdant woodlands are home to a slew of coffee plantations, the most prestigious of which come with the eponymous appellation. Only coffee grown above a certain altitude in the Blue mountains can be labeled thus. This is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. I didn’t bring back any Blue Mountain coffee from Jamaica but did buy some last weekend from my favorite coffee store.

At $40 per pound, it’s the most expensive coffee I have ever bought. Apart from the limited number of plantations that can be labeled Blue Mountain, another reason for the high price is because 90% of this coffee is exported for consumption by the Japanese. The rest of the world has to make do with the remaining 10%.

I love this coffee. It’s smooth, not too strong, and is not at all bitter. Do I think it’s worth the exorbitant price? No. I have had better coffee (Ethiopian Longberry springs to mind) for much less. But it’s worth trying at least once.