With the island returning to some sense of normalcy, the annual Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival was kickstarted Tuesday night (March 1) with a physical launch where a month-long list of activities was rolled out.

Held at Jamaica Food and Drink Kitchen in St Andrew, the launch incorporated one of a number of events, it’s Cooking With Coffee Series, with Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett; Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles Jr; Jennifer Griffith, permanent secretary from the Ministry of Tourism; Dr Carey Wallace, executive director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund; Nicola Madden-Greig, chair of the Gastronomy Tourism Network and president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA); and MC Dr Terri-Karelle Reid, taking part.

Since its conception in 2017, the festival has traditionally taken place on the historic grounds of Newcastle in the Blue Mountains, where a three-day experience filled with food and culture was celebrated. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the incorporation of the month of activities, has led the festival to shift gear.

Speaking at yesterday’s launch, Madden-Greig announced the series of events slated to take place for the month of March and up to April 2.

This, its fifth staging, will consist of consecutive weekends of ‘Hike and Bike in the Blue Mountains’ as well as the ‘Cooking With Coffee Series’, where various sample foods are prepared with coffee as the constant ingredient; The ‘Coffee Sip and Shop’, in partnership with both local and international coffee shops from the US, UK and Canada.

The festival will also host ‘Farmers’ Trade and Tour Day’, in partnership with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture. This will facilitate interaction with different farmers who will share detailed explanations of the process of growing coffee.

‘The Blue Mountain Culinary Trail’ will also take place and will feature cafes and attractions along the Blue Mountains where attendees will be able to dine at the different coffee spots.

Madden-Greig also announced the restaging of the Barista competition.

“We are also going to be having again this year our Barista competition which will be showcasing all of our wonderful Baristas that we have… which we will have our second week of eliminations in March which our finals will be held this year when we have our Festival Marketplace.”

The Festival Marketplace, a coffee cultural exchange which will be held at Jamaica’s first Gastronomy Centre, will take place on April 2, where Bartlett will host ‘Wake Up With Coffee’.

The 2022 Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival is held in partnership with The Ministry of Tourism, The Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), Tourism Linkages Network (TLN), JAMPRO, RADA, TPDCo, Taste Jamaica and JACRA.

The events are sponsored by Hawkeye, Best Dressed Chicken, Jamaica Food and Drink Kitchen and Select Brand.

For more information on the scheduled activities, visit the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee website here or its Instagram page here.

READ: Coffee poised to become a ‘cultural statement’ for Jamaica – Bartlett