The Jamaica Blue Mountains - a very special place
The majestic Jamaica Blue Mountains stretch across the country and rise over 7,000 feet above sea level. Ancient, extinct volcanoes have left centuries of nutrients, intricate network of roots and minerals comprising a botanical ‘ super food’ for the coffee plants. The climate of the region is cool and misty with high rainfall, and is ideal for this high end arabica coffee.
The Jamaican Blue Mountains are a fertile mix of heavily wooded north slopes, frequent rain fall, rich flora and fauna and relatively low average temperatures despite its tropical location. The blue mountain mist and continuous cloud cover ensures a slow maturation rate of the coffee fruit giving the coffee time to develop those deep, complex flavors that is so characteristic for Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee.
A piece of history
Oubu is the product of an astounding legacy dating back to 1723 when three coffee seedlings where sent to the French colony of Martinique, an island south-west of Jamaica.
Five years later in 1728, Sir Nicholas Lawes, governor of Jamaica, received one of the plants as a gift from the Governor of Martinique and the tradition of quality Arabica coffee from Jamaica was born.
It appeared that the natural conditions in the Jamaican mountains where quite exceptional, and cultivation of the precious beans expanded rapidly from then on.
Today the coffee industry in Jamaica is characterized by a multitude of small farmers whose livelihood is dependent on their annual coffee crop. Sherwood Forest Coffee Estate, where we exclusively get our coffee from, is one of the largest and oldest estates in Jamaica known for its high quality product.
Protected trademark
The quality of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is indisputable and is fiercely protected by the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority – or JACRA for short – a government entity that controls all export of coffee from the island.
The quality control that the Jamaican regulator has put in place is unrivaled by other coffee producing countries. It is outstanding and wide-ranging. JACRA even arranges for the shipping of the coffee to guarantee that the coffee that was submitted for quality testing is what is actually shipped.
You’ll see the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee trademark on all Oubu coffee products. It signifies that we are a licensed trademark license holder. Coupled with the blockchain verification of all Oubu coffee products showing you exactly where the coffee came from is your guarantee that this is a 100% authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee product.
Coffee grades and quality
At Sherwood Forest Coffee Estate we have a strong team of very skilled ladies who meticulously sort through all the coffee going into your Oubu coffee – by hand. We take the quality of our coffee very seriously.
The Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) has set out standards for scoring and grading coffee, which we follow and appreciate.
The coffee, although split into different grades, is however, all from the the same plants, and as so is all of a very high level of quality regardless of grade. Grades range from 1 to 3 and also singles out Peaberry, which is an even more flavorful mutation of the beans and is sold separately.
All the Oubu coffee that reaches a real or virtual retail shelf has been cared for with great attention to detail from farm to cup. Once the process of preparing the coffee for export is done, then we hand it over to JACRA. JACRA then carries out extensive quality checks once they receive the processed coffee beans from us. All barrels of green beans, or batches of roasted coffee are tested for quality and consistency.