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Beans: Jamaican Blue Mountain, Wallenford Estate, Jamaica
Shop: Out of the Grey, Pennsylvania, USA.
Out of the Grey – Jamaican Blue Mountain: Background information.
I will take you back to 1728 when Nicolas Lawes, the Jamaican Governor, imported coffee plants from nearby Martinique. The coffee industry was born and soon it became apparent that there was a region that produced the perfect coffee: the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains have a perfect climate with great soil, perpetual fog, sunshine and an ideal height. Nowadays Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is a protected name, the same as Champagne for example. The coffee is grown only in the parishes of Saint Andrew, Saint Thomas, Saint Mary and Portland.
The Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica sees to it that growing regulations are strictly followed, making sure that the quality of the coffee is protected. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is grown between an altitude of 910 meters and 1710 meters. The coffee is mostly exported to Japan (80%) and since the production numbers are quite low, the prices range between 50 dollar and 100 dollar per pound. This review will be about Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee from the Wallenford Estate in Jamaica.
Out of the Grey – Jamaican Blue Mountain: Opening the package.
The Out of the Grey coffee comes in a beige package with a degassing valve and a zip lock mechanism to keep the coffee as fresh as possible. On the package it states the name and a short description of the coffee notes. Opening this rare and expensive coffee is a treat. As soon as the zip lock opens, a distinct sweet and chocolate scent comes off of the coffee. A full blown chocolate brownie scent fills the room and I sniff an couple of times to take the scent in as much as possible. I cant wait to try this coffee! The beans look evenly roasted and when I bite down on one I get a sweet and bitter flavor from the bean, pulling saliva in my mouth for a while after swallowing. I put the coffee in the grinder and once more a chocolate scent fills the room as I see the ground coffee go into my portafilter.
Out of the Grey – Jamaican Blue Mountain: The Tasting.
While reviewing this coffee I noticed that the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee has very powerful scents and flavors and so I used 18 grams of coffee to brew. Since one would not put coke in a Johnny Walker Blue Label, I did not make any milk based drinks with this coffee either.
I pull the handle on my machine and start brewing. A dark brown syrup flows into my cup, gradually changing to a lighter brown and beige over time. The aroma that comes off of the brew is a thick milk chocolate with a hint of floral notes. The brew stops at 30ml and the crema looks thick and has a tiger print; excellent! I take a sip of the brew, slurp oxygen inside and swirl the coffee round in my mouth. A short spike of a soft nutty flavor appears for a split second before the intense dark chocolate flavor takes over completely. While the coffee flows over my tongue, a sugar sweetness appears and creates a brownie-like flavor in my mouth that is full, rich and creamy. This is what I was looking for in the Jamaican Blue Mountain and it is all there. The flavor stays with me throughout my sip and even in the aftertaste is lingers on. The Mouthfeel of this coffee is also very nice; creamy but super fluffy with a low to medium acidity that is best described as bright.
Out of the Grey – Jamaican Blue Mountain: The verdict.
The Jamaican Blue Mountain of Out of the Grey is 100% authentic from the Wallenford Estate. Since the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is so highly controlled by government rules and regulations, you can ‘expect’ a certain level of quality and certain tasting notes in your cup. This Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee does just that; the chocolate brownie flavors and the chocolate/floral aromas are all there. The acidity and mouthfeel are spot on; creamy, fluffy and intense. I can see why this coffee is a ‘bucket list’ coffee and I think that everyone should at least try the Jamaican Blue Mountain at least once in their life. Nature gave the beans and Out of the Grey coffee roasted it so that it completely lives up to the Jamaican Blue Mountain standard. Kudo’s!
Click on the link below to go to the website of Out of the Grey:
