Grown in the hilly terrain of Jamaica’s highest mountain, Blue Mountain Coffee is a gem for coffee lovers both locally and internationally.

Blue Mountain Coffee remains one of the most sought-after coffees around the world, due mainly to its sweet aroma and the mild taste in every cup.

As Jamaica celebrates Blue Mountain Coffee Day today (January 9), here are a few key facts that you may not know about the Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee.

According to the Blue Mountain Coffee Group Limited, Blue Mountain coffee is said to have originated from French King Louis XV who sent three coffee plants to Martinique in 1723.

The Governor of Martinique later gifted Sir Nicholas Lawes, a former governor of Jamaica, a coffee plant in 1728, after which this one coffee plant later gave birth to an entire industry, making Jamaica the number one capital for coffee across the region.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is grown exclusively in the cool hills of the Blue Mountains and is processed at the Mavis Bank Coffee Factory in St Andrew.

The coffee plant is best grown in the cool misty mountainous terrain of the Blue Mountains, which not only provide a shelter for succulent coffee beans from the harmful penetration of the sun but nutrients that are essential to the development of the plant.

Perhaps one of the most interesting facts about Blue Mountain coffee is that the coffee plant is grown at an altitude of up to 1,800 across parishes such as St Andrew, St Mary, Portland and St Thomas.

The berries are handpicked by farmers when they have grown to maturity and must go through a rigorous process of quality control before it can be introduced to the local and international market.

The authenticity of Jamaica’s Blue Mountain coffee is maintained through its signature style of wooden barrel packaging as opposed to bags that are used by other coffee producers around the world.

The Blue Mountain Coffee Group Limited further outlined that 65 per cent to 80 per cent of Jamaica’s coffee is exported to Japan.

Whether you are a coffee or tea lover, Jamaica’s Blue Mountain Peak coffee is undeniably one of the island’s most prized treasures that must be celebrated and cherished.

READ: Blue Mountain Coffee celebrated globally