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Written by Sonia Morgan
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Sunday, 14 September 2008 |
 For many, there’s nothing better to wake them up than a steaming cup of coffee. But where can we find the best coffee and what makes coffee such a part of many people’s morning? That is something we found out when we visited the Craighton Estates in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica where we found and tasted the world’s best. Fact: 85% of Jamaica’s Blue Mountain Coffee is exported to Japan!
It takes a number of specifics to get the best quality coffee. According to the estate’s website, “Climate, soil fertility, hours and angles of sunrays, mountain mist and rainfall” are just some of the factors that determine how coffee is grown and how it eventually tastes.
In Jamaica, they grow the Arabica coffee beans, and it has the best of all the requirements to grow it. In fact, there are two optimal climates for growing – one of which is the subtropical areas, with latitudes as high as 16-24°. The altitude must be between 1800-3600 ft, and the raining and dry seasons well-defined. Other areas like this are Zimbabwe, Mexico and the S. Paulo and Minas Gerais regions of Brazil.
The other is with the equatorial regions at latitudes lower than 10° and boasting altitudes of 3600-6300 feet. It rains often, creating two coffee harvesting seasons. Some of the countries with this type of climate are Ethiopia, Kenya and Colombia.
So, I’ve given you some facts about that bean we love so much, so now let’s talk taste. According to our trusty tour guide at Craighton Estates, you can have light, medium or dark roast, but coffee’s true test is at medium roast. He said if coffee is good it will be superb at medium roast and if it’s bad it will be awful.
One of the interesting things we learned is that coffee is not synonymous with caffeine. Go figure! In fact, Blue Mountain Coffee boasts 65 percent less caffeine than most other coffees and does not have an after taste. Green tea may have more caffeine than coffee in many cases.
How to make a good pot of coffee
You will need a coffee grinder (if you use whole beans), a coffee maker, coffee filter and water.
Buy only the freshest beans and store them in an airtight container.
You can grind the beans at the store or if you have a grinder at home, use it. Do not grind too finely.
Measure coffee grounds into the filter section of your coffee maker, at the standard is 2 tbsp. for every six ounce cup of coffee or 1 1/4 cup for each 10 cup pot, you can adjust if you like it stronger or weaker. My grandmother usually adds a tiny pinch of salt to the brew, which brings up the taste.
Measure the amount of water (tap water if it’s good. Filtered or bottled water if not) you need using the coffee pot. Pour water into the water basin in the coffee pot and place coffee pot on the warming plate. Make sure the coffee maker is plugged in, start the brew and presto!
When it’s finished brewing, pour yourself a cup. You can have it Black or unsweetened, you can add just sugar or sweetener or ad sugar and cream. For more exotic flavors, use liquid creams like French Vanilla, hazelnut and many others.
Now smell the aroma, sip and enjoy!
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