The Art of Brewing a Cup of Joe (Coffee)

What is the best method for brewing a cup of coffee? How did you learn to make a cup of coffee? Did you learn to make the coffee from your mother or your father? Was this a skill passed down like shaving or working on a motor vehicle! Brewing a great cup of coffee is considered by some to be a skill above all others skills we have. Most men and some women don’t even know how to brew a great cup of coffee. They just follow the direction on the bag and hope for the best. 

But let’s take this into consideration, the bag or can of coffee you buy from your local supermarket. How long that bag or can of coffee sat in a warehouse before it was shipped out to the supermarket to be sold. Is it still fresh or has the coffee beans started to break down giving you the coffee drinker a bitter taste instead of a great cup of coffee? How where these coffee beans processed for your bag or can of coffee? Did they use pesticides during the growth of the coffee cherries? Was there any chemicals used during the processing of the coffee?

Now let’s look at signal origins coffees like Brazilian CoffeeCosta Rican CoffeeHawaiian CoffeeMexican CoffeeColombian CoffeeEthiopian CoffeeJamaican Coffee. All these coffees our considered to be Gourmet Coffees or Coffee from around the World. They are grown on plantations and then shipped out around the world. Most of these coffees will end up and specialty coffee shops. There is good news for you that there are online sites that also specialize in bring you the consumer these special coffees for your enjoyment. These sites will let you choose the grind in which you want your coffee shipped to you. I have been drinking Honduras ‘Silver Hills’ coffee from CoffeeGiftsMagic, I order it in the Drip Grind so I could use it in my signal cup Keurig, it makes a good cup of coffee.

But we are here to learn how you make a great cup of coffee. Over the past few months I have tried many different ways to making a great cup of coffee. The Drip Grind, French press Grind, and the Espresso Grind is the easiest way to get your coffee beans done for you if you don’t have your own coffee grinder. All these grinds make a good cup of coffee. But to me the best cup of coffee I ever had was when my sister took whole coffee beans and placed them in her personal coffee grinder and grinded the beans right before making the coffee.

The taste of the coffee was so refreshing and the aroma in the room was unbelievable to my senses. I started to look forward to the morning cup of coffee again. Heck I could of just survived on coffee during my vacation if I had too. To me that was one Great Cup of Coffee. We tried two different coffees that week all from CoffeeGiftsMagic.com, we had Highlander Grogg and Peppermint Patty Flavored Coffee

My sister told me the best way to buy your coffee was in Whole Bean so you could have the freshest cup of coffee, because when using a coffee grinder you are releasing the oils that are still inside the whole coffee bean, if you get your coffee pre-grind, those oils start drying up after they have been grounded.

There are two types of coffee grinders on the market today. There is the blade grinder which consist of a signal blade that slices your coffee bean, it does not give you a consistent grind, but it does do the trick. And then there is the Burr Grinder which usually has several different setting so you can choose your own grind. From very fine grind to very coarse grind depending on how you are making your coffee. The Burr Grinder varies in price from $50.00 all the way up to a couple of thousand dollars. For home use a Burr Grinder right around $200.00 is a rather good price for a quality piece of equipment.

The Burr grinder will crush the whole coffee bean and releases more of the oils within the coffee bean, unlike its brother the blade grinder which just slices the coffee bean. The Burr by far is my choice for grinding whole coffee beans. You get one Great Cup of Coffee (Joe).

CoffeeGiftsMagic has all of your needs for Coffee from Around the World, we also have Decaffeinated Coffee, Flavored Coffee, Espresso Coffee, Organic Coffee, and Coffee Blends. We bring you these coffees at a great price and will ship right to your front door. Come and take a look around our site. Hope to see you soon.

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The Holiday Season is once again approach us!

The holiday season is once again approach us, this is the time of year we spend time with our families and friends. We get to sit back and reflect on the past year. Sometimes we have had a great year and sometime the year just did not ever get off the ground for us. And then there are the times when we just can’t wait to see what the next year will bring us.

We all have hopes and dreams how our life is going to play out for us during the year. Sometimes we lose love ones along the way to death or they just decide to move on and their plans don’t include you anymore.

I know from my own life that the biggest happiest part of the Holiday Season was always spending time with family and friends. Although the holiday season is always fast moving and you feel like you are being pulled into several different directions during the holiday season and there are times when you wish that it was all over so you could just return back to your simple quiet life.

When I was growing up my parents always made sure us kids had everything we needed for Christmas, we celebrated the holiday with the best of them. As we grew up and became adults, we still celebrated Christmas, but to us Christmas was never about the gifts we gave each other it was always about the love we had for each other. The time we got to spend together with our family.

As we all gather this holiday season like we have for several years now not on Christmas Day. Because my siblings all have families of their own now. We will share a holiday meal together and we will talk and tell stories of years past while drinking a cup of coffee, egg nog, or hot chocolate.

When you are trying to decided what to get your family or a special friend for Christmas. Remember the greatest gift in life will always be love which is free. But if you want to get them something they can use or might like to have CoffeeGiftsMagic has a wide selection of Gourmet Coffees and Teas.  We have a selection of Flavored Coffee, Gift samplers Collections, and Hot Chocolate.

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Timeline: Coffee History

850: First known discover of coffee cherries; Legends tell us that members of the Galla tribe in Ethiopia notice that they got an energy boost when they ate certain berries. They would ground up the berries and mix them with animal fat. Another Ethiopian legend suggest a goat herder Kaldi noticed his goats eating certain berries became friskier after eating the red berries from local shrubs. Kaldi, himself experiments with the berries and finds that he himself has more energy.

1100: The first coffee trees are farmed on plantations. The Arab traders begin to boil the beans and created a drink called ‘qahwa’ which means (that what prevents sleep) also known as the wine of Islam.

1453: Coffee was introduced to Constantinople by Ottoman Turk. The world’s first coffee shop is opened. Turkish law makes it legal for women to divorce her husband if he fails to provide her with her daily quota of coffee.

1511: The Governor Khair Bey of Mecca, bans coffee fearing that its power might promote resistance to his rule. The coffee trade is shut down in Constantinople. But only after one week-long reign of terror the sultan decided that coffee was blessed and the governor was executed.

1600: Coffee enters Europe through the port of Venice, (the first coffee house opens in Italy in 1683). Coffee is introduced to the West by Italian traders. Pope Clemente VIII was advised to outlaw the Muslin brew. Pope Clemente VIII, decided to baptize the drink, stating it would be a sin, not to let everyone enjoy this wonderful beverage. Why should only the pagans drink it! Pope Clemente’s baptism of coffee propelled its spread across Europe.

1607: Coffee is introduced to the New World by Captain John Smith, founder of Jamestown in Virginia.

1652: The first coffeehouse was opened in England. But women were not allowed inside unless they were there to serve the men. Many women wrote petitions to get this law changed but they were refused. Edward Lloyd’s coffeehouse opened in 1688, it later became Lloyd’s of London, the world’s first insurance company. The word ‘TIPS’ was coined in English coffeehouses; a sign reading “To insure Prompt Service” TIPS was placed by a mug. Those wanting a better seat or fast service would throw a coin into a tin.

1672: The opening of the first Parisian café Le Procope dedicated to serving coffee.

1713: King Louis XIV was presented a coffee tree from the Dutch. It is believed that sugar was first used as an additive by his court

1718: The Dutch transport coffee from Java to Dutch Guyana in South America. Coffee plants are introduced into the Americas for the first time for farming.

1721: The first coffeehouse opens in Berlin.

1727: The Brazilian coffee industry has been sparked by a love affair. The love affair started by smuggling a few seedlings out of Paris. A Brazilian coast guard officer was attracted to the wife of the Governor of French Guyana. He requested that she supply him with a few seedlings that were afterwards grown in Brazil. Founding the production that has dominated the world trade for 200 years. (By 1800, Brazil had become the world’s largest producer of coffee.)

1730: The British introduced coffee to Jamaica.

1750: One of Europe’s first coffeehouses, Café Greco, opens in Rome.

1763: Venice has over 2,000 cafes.

1773: The Boston Tea Party makes drinking coffee a patriotic duty in America.

1779: Coffee plants shipped from Cuba to Costa Rica.

1790: Mexico was given coffee plants to start farming them.

1813: The first coffee is grown in Hawaii by Don Francisco de Paula Marin. He was an advisor to King Kamehameha I, he was the first person to farm pineapple and coffee in Hawaiian Islands. (Not a lot of records about coffee in Hawaii until 1823).

1822: The first prototype of an espresso machine was created in France.

1823: Chief Boki accompanied King Kamehameha II and his wife on a royal visit to London for an audience with King George IV. King and Queen Kamehameha had both contracted measles, a disease unknown to the Hawaiian people, as a result of the disease the King and Queen had died. Chief Boki returned to Hawaii on the British warship HMS Blond, he carried some Arabica coffee trees to Hawaii, which he acquired in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on his way home with the bodies King and Queen Kamehameha. But these coffee trees never produced any coffee.

1828: Reverend Samuel Ruggles brought some trees from the Manoa Valley on Oahu to the Naole area on the Big Island. This area is now known as the Kona District. These plants thrived and by 1878 Kona was producing 150,194 lbs. of coffee and was listed as the 13th largest coffee production area in the world. (Today Hawaii has over 6500 acres of coffee being farmed on all of the major Hawaiian Islands with annual production between 6 to 7 million pounds).

1865: James Mason invents the coffee percolator.

1878: Coffee is introduced to the British colonies in East Africa.

1885: Roasting coffee by using natural gas and hot air becomes the most popular method.

1886: Joel Cheek, a former wholesale grocer names his popular coffee blend ‘Maxwell House’ after a hotel in Nashville, Tennessee where it is served.

1901: The soluble coffee (instant) was invented by Japanese-American chemist Satori Kato of Chicago.

1901: Luigi Bezzera files a patent for the first espresso machine.

1903: German coffee importer Ludwig Roselius turns a batch of ruined coffee beans over to researchers, who prefect the process of removing caffeine from beans without destroying the flavor.

1905: The first commercial espresso machine is manufactured in Italy.

1906: English chemist George Constant Washington invented instance coffee while living in Guatemala. He noticed a powdery condensation forming on the spout of his silver coffee decanter. After some research, he created the first mass production of instance coffee.

1907: In less than a century, Brazil accounts for 97% of the world’s coffee beans harvested.

1920: Prohibition in the United States, Coffee Sales Boom!!!

1933: Dr. Ernest Illy develops the first automatic espresso machine. At the same time Alfonso Bialetti invented the world’s first stovetop espresso maker, which later becomes the most popular maker in Italy.

1938: Having a surplus of coffee in Brazil, Nestle Company invents freeze-dried coffee. Which is named Nescafe and is introduced in Switzerland.

1942: During World War II, American soldiers are issued Maxwell House coffee in their rations kits. Back home, wide spread hoarding leads to coffee rationing.

1945: Achilles Gaggia enhances the espresso machine with a manual piston that creates a high pressure extraction to produce a thick layer of cream.

2013: CoffeeGiftsMagic, joins the coffee race on the Internet. Bringing Coffees from around the World to you. All of our coffees are roasted the same day they are shipped out. We have Brazilian coffee, Costa Rica coffee, Hawaiian coffee, Colombian coffee, Ethiopian coffee, Jamaican coffee, and many more for your enjoyment.

Do you like flavored coffee, we carry a wide selection of flavored coffees. We have Espresso, Decaf coffee, and Organic Coffee.

If coffee is not your thing we also carry a wide selection of Gourmet Tea, we have black tea, green tea, flavored teas, Tisanes tea, and Herbal teas.

We just started to offer Gourmet Hot Chocolate for those who prefer chocolate to coffee or tea.

Come and visit us at coffeegiftsmagic.com, we will leave the light on for you.

 

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History of Coffee in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. In the tenth century, Ethiopian nomadic mountain people may have been the first to recognize coffee’s stimulating effects, although they ate the red cherries directly, not consuming it as a beverage.  Coffee was spread throughout the Middle East by the mystic Sufi pilgrims of Islam. From the Middle East these beans spread to Europe and then throughout their colonial empire, which included Indonesia and the Americas.  

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Coffee trees have always grown wild in the forest of the south-western highlands of Kaffa and Buno districts. The total area covered by Arabica and other types of coffee is about 400,000 acres. The total coffee production is about 200,000 tons of clean coffee per year. This directly or indirectly affects the livelihoods for over 15 million people in this country. Ethiopia’s economy is based on agriculture.

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Coffee still grows wild in Ethiopia’s forest. Ethiopian farmers cultivate coffee in four different systems. Which include forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, garden coffee and plantation coffee. Approximately 98% of all Ethiopian coffee is produced by peasants on small farms in Ethiopia and this is one of their most important exports.

Ethiopian coffee is one of the most popular coffee origins in the world today. Unfortunately Ethiopia must partner itself with other coffee companies, which generally have more marketing power and earn higher profits on their products. The average Ethiopian farmer makes about $900.00 per year. The women in Ethiopia that work in the coffee processing plants make as little as $20.00 a month. Recently the Ethiopian farmers have teamed up with small scale Fair Trade roaster like (Equal Exchange), which has helped the Ethiopian farmers find a fair deal for their coffee.

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CoffeeGiftsMagic has Coffee from around the World, and we currently carry three different coffees from Ethiopia.  We have the following coffees from Ethiopia and you can choose to have it sent to you whole bean, drip grind, French press, or espresso grind right to your front door.

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe

Mocca-Java

Decaffeinated Mocca-Java

 

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Come Visit Us at CoffeeGiftsMagic

Come Visit Us at CoffeeGiftsMagic.

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Come Visit Us at CoffeeGiftsMagic

 

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Come and visit us at CoffeeGiftsMagic.com, we have a wide selection of Gourmet Coffee and Teas for your enjoyment. We having been working hard to bring you coffees from around the world. All of our coffees are roasted the same day that they are shipped, so you get the freshest coffee.

Are you looking for Flavored Coffee, Coffee Blends, Espresso, or even Organic Coffee’s? Coffeegiftsmagic is the answer to your search. We have them all for your enjoyment. Coffee not what you are looking for? Coffeegiftsmagic also has a wide selection of Gourmet loose-leaf teas. We currently carry Flavored Teas, Herbal Teas, Green Teas, Black Teas, and Tisanes Teas.

CoffeeGiftsMagic just added 5 new gifts sets to its website. New at CoffeeGiftsMagic: Lake Champlain Chocolates Gourmet Hot Chocolate and Holy Chocolate’s Gourmet Hot Chocolate.

CoffeeGiftsMagic asked that you find us on Facebook. If you like our Facebook page you can get 10% off on your purchase from our Facebook store. We rotate the products on this page every few weeks. We hope to see you soon.

CoffeeGiftsMagic, Now has Free Shipping for all Orders $85.00 or More!!!

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Health Benefits Associated with Drinking Black Tea

There are many types of teas out in the world, but of 90% of the teas sold in the West are black tea. There are four types of tea black, green, oolong, and white are all made from the Camellia Sinensis plant. Black tea has more flavor and caffeine than the others. Because how black tea is processed black tea holds its flavor for several years. Did you know black tea was used as a form of currency in Asia, they use to press black tea into block/bricks and use it to trade with, in some parts of Asia the method of payment continued into the 19th century!

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How black tea is processed and does the processing have anything to do with the health benefits found in black tea? Black tea leafs are first spread out on racks and are blown with air to remove about 3rd of their moister and it makes them pliable. Leaves are then rolled which breaks their cell walls that release the natural sugars in them which is used for fermenting the leaves. The leaves are then placed in a humid area which helps promote the fermentation. The leaves turn dark in color and develops black tea’s strong flavor. The tea leaves are then dried and shipped out around the world.

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Since black tea comes from the same plant as green, oolong, and white teas it is natural that they all have similar health benefits.

Black tea is loaded with antioxidants…. Black tea will help with your cholesterol, preventing damage in both the bloodstream and the artery walls, it will lower the risk of heart disease. The flavornoids found in black teas have proven to help improve coronary vasodilation and reduce clots. So what does all this mean? In short drinking black tea can help reduce the risk of heart disease and strokes, as it helps expand the arteries, which increase the blood flow.

Drinking bleak tea can also help in the Cancer Prevention, the antioxidant polyphenols in the tea seems to help with the preventing the formation of potential carcinogens in the body, certain types of cancer, such as ovarian, lung, prostate, colorectal, and bladder. Some other studies indicate that drinking black tea may help with preventing stomach, prostate and breast cancer. So what does this mean? Research has shown by drinking black tea has help in the fight against cancer. Some of the properties found in black tea slow down the growth of cancerous cells without destroying healthy cells.

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Could drinking black tea help with the aging process. There are antioxidants in green tea which are used to help with acne. There are many health products today that use tea extracts to help the skin look younger anti-aging creams…

Some studies have shown that people who drink tea on a regular basis have stronger bones then the people that don’t drink tea. Drinking tea can help with the Digestive tract health, which has been used by china for thousands of years. Tea is great for helping with the digestive aid. Drinking black tea can help burn fat and it will speed up the metabolism. This makes drinking tea ideal for those who want to lose weight or who exercise regularly. With the increase of the metabolism from the black tea there is also an increase of brain function and it aids in alertness. The caffeine in the tea acts more as a subtle stimulant, taking more than a few minutes to take effect, unlike coffee or cola, which hits your body system fast. This effect is assisted by another compound found only in tea, theophylline. While caffeine targets the brain and the muscles, theophylline stimulates the respiratory system, heart and kidneys. This help promotes and maintain a health cardiovascular system.

As you can see from the above article there are several benefits to drinking tea. Coffeegiftsmagic.com has a wide selection of Black Teas, Green Teas, Tisane Teas, Herbal Teas, and Flavored Tea.  All of our teas that we sell are loose-leaf teas, so you get the best flavor from your favorite tea.

 

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What new at CoffeeGiftsMagic!

Well, it has been a busy few weeks at coffeegiftsmagic.com. We have been adding new products to the website getting ready for the Holiday Season. We have added four more Herbal Teas for your enjoyment. We have also added several more Flavored Coffees to our line up. And we have decided to offer you some gift collections of several different gourmet coffees and flavored coffees. We are still looking to come up with the right collection of gourmet teas for your enjoyment. Hopefully here soon we will be able to offer a gift set for our tea lovers out there.

It’s in the works at coffeegiftsmagic.com is Hot Chocolate, we have been searching for the right Gourmet Hot Chocolate for your enjoyment. We have been looking at Lake Champlain Chocolates out of Vermont for their Gourmet Hot Chocolate. We are very close to the end of negotiations on their products.

Some of the Gourmet coffees we have added for your enjoyment included Organic Dominican Republic ‘Santo Domingo, Espresso Prima, Sumatra Mandeling, and Galata Kulesi Coffee Cuvee.  The Flavored coffees added over the past few weeks Cinnamon Hazelnut, Pecan Pie, Southern Pecan Pie, Nutmeg Spice, and Egg Nog Rum. In our Tea Department we added Rooibos African (Red Bush) tea, Chamomil Tea, Emperor Ying’s ‘Feel Better Tea’, and Yerba Mate Tea.

We hope to see you soon.

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Chamomile Tea Benefits

Chamomile is one of the oldest herbs, whose reputation as a medical plant shows little signs of abatement. The ancient Egyptians, used Chamomile to treat several medical problems which are still used today. Chamomile is used to fight illness, promote calm and relieve anxiety at bedtime. As a tisane (herbal tea), it is naturally caffeine-free. The premium varieties of chamomile tea still continue to come from Egypt. If you have yet to try this amazing tea, you will be pleasantly surprised by its superior flavor. Chamomile is still one of the most important medical and aromatic plants grown in Egypt. The sweet calming taste of Egyptian chamomile helps to ease the mind and soothe the soul.

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So what are the health benefits to chamomile tea?

·         Better sleep, great relaxing and soothing properties.

·         Stomach soother, eases the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, promotes elimination and assist overall digestion.

·         Menstrual cramps, raises the urine level of glycine, a compound that calms muscle spasms.

·         Cold Fighter, when it is consumed regularly.

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So how does one make a great cup of chamomile tea?

We suggest you use 1-2 teaspoons of herbs per serving. Before infusing, moisten the flowers with a few drops of hot water to release their aroma.

Fill either a pot or a cup with boiling water (195F) and allow too steep for 2-3 minutes. Egyptian Chamomile may be infused several times by gradually increasing the steeping time. It is a great treat for you right before bedtime because it will help reduce anxiety. It is also a great Caffeine Free drink to have.

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Why Does Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Taste So Good

The peaks of Jamaica Blue Mountains are raised 7,402 feet above sea level, it is the highest spot in Jamaica. It is also the fifth highest mountain in the Caribbean. The lush vegetation gives the peak a greenish blue hue. The mountains rise up above the Kingston and overlook the eastern part of Jamaica. It is within these mountains that the world’s finest and best known, single origin coffee grows.

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In the world of coffee, very few coffee drinkers have ever tasted any single origin or estate coffee. Most coffee drinkers consume blended coffee or better known as graded coffee. A very lucky few have tried Jamaica Blue Mountain or Hawaiian Kona coffee and knows that the coffee’s origin makes a world of difference.

So why is Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee so great? There are several factors, Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is exported by the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica. They certify what is called Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee actually comes from the legally designed growing area for the coffee. They also inspect each barrel for quality, checking the bean size and color. Qualified professional tasters roast a small samples and “cup” the coffee to certify it was properly processed and has the aroma and taste that distinguishes Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee.

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But it is the exclusive location and microclimate that makes the coffee great. The area where Blue Mountain coffee is grown is high in the mountains. The mountains are mostly covered in forest, which provides shade in which to grow the coffee. The area in which Blue Mountain coffee is grown because of the altitude, climate, and forest cover provides the best conditions for growing the finest coffee in the world.

All of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is grown from the Arabica species of coffee. Many of the Arabica trees are descendants from the first trees imported from Martinique, where coffee was first introduced into the Caribbean. There have been some planters starting to experiment with some new varietals, but Arabica is far away the most planted coffee tree.

The elevation is one of the most critical aspects to be certified as Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee. All Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee must be cultivated at an elevation between 1,800 and 5,500 feet. The higher elevations makes significant differences in the quality of the coffee. The higher the altitudes produce a denser bean, which makes a richer cup of coffee.

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Jamaica Blue Mountains climate is cooler than the rest of Jamaica, the Blue Mountains are located on the Eastern end of Jamaica. Which exposes the mountains to moisture laden North East trade winds. These winds hit the coast and rise up into the mountains, generating significant cloud cover and mist as they hit the cooler air of the higher elevations. Due to the cloud cover it slows down the development of the coffee cherries. The long ripening has a very positive effect on the aroma and taste of the coffee produced from these trees.

Jamaica has some of the richest and most fruitful soil in the Caribbean, but not in the Blue Mountains. The soil there is lacking from both metamorphic and igneous rocks and is quite porous and prone to leaching. The soil in the Blue Mountains is very low in many of the nutrients, especially phosphorus and nitrogen. The coffee trees grow slowly and the production is lower than any other coffee producing area of Jamaica or the world. It is not known why the soil in which Blue Mountain coffee is grown, has produced an exceptional tasting coffee, but maybe it has to do with the extra stress from growing in soil with little to no nutrients.

All the factors combine has created a very rich, smooth cup of coffee. Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is generally low in acid.

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