Well, that’s at least my own opinion anyways. I’m sure there’s people out there who love the blend, but after tracking down an authentic (and expensive) bag of Jablum beans, I was a little disappointed.
In my opinion, I would describe Jamaican Blue as a very “light,” “floral” coffee, with a rather weak finish. Likely the roast didn’t stand up to my brewing method of choice (chemex), and didn’t have the excess of body needed to survive the heavy paper filters.
I’ve heard people rave about these kinds of beans in the past, but I just don’t get it. There’s a really interesting story to them, how they are harvested from a mountain in Jamaica, but beyond that, they aren’t too inspiring. The packaging it comes in looks kind of cool, but it’s a pain in the butt ripping the netting off, and there wasn’t a “roasted date” anywhere on the bag.
Overall, I’ll likely never buy these beans again, and I’ll stick with my regular purchase these days: the Sidama beans from Detour Coffee Roasters. They supply Dark Horse with their own blend, and are just amazingly roasted.
Great post Tyrone, you continue to inspire my coffee journey. I’m in the market for a Chemex brewer but found out they won’t deliver them to Canada. So I was wondering, how did you get yours?
That’s strange… though I didn’t order mine myself (it was a gift), I was told that it came straight from the manufacturer’s website: http://www.chemexcoffeemaker.com/Coffeemakers.htm I’m happy with my eight-cup non hand blown brewer, I don’t think I could tell the difference from the “hand blown” kind. An accessory worth getting right off the bat would be the cover. You’ll also want to order a box or two of filters as well (go for the squares!). Following that, you might want to also get a kettle like this: With the chemex, you need a very deliberate pour, however, you might be able to find a large tea pot that could pour it similiarly http://www.detourcoffee.com/products/11-hario-buono-kettle
I know it’s not as cool as ordering direct, but I saw the chemex at William sanoma on wednesday, decently priced too.
Also, Tyrone, good to see you came to agree with me on the Jamaican blue.
I found it! In Canada too!
http://www.greenbeanery.ca/bean/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=13936
If there’s anything more appropro to run through a bongesque coffee maker, it’s beans from Jamaica, mon.
Tyrone and I attended a coffee course at Mercury last fall and experienced a similar delicate floral coffees – rather tasty and totally unique. But to clear the morning fog I tend to steer to cheap-and-heavy types.
In other news, after 5 days in London my mom is addicted to flat whites. How cool is that?