Blue Mountain Coffee Beans

World famous Jamaican mountains

Type in Blue Mountain on your google search bar and you will find results on a website that offers e-cards for those special holidays, occasions or that spur of the moment greeting to a dearly beloved. There’s a search result for a ski resort in Ontario, Canada and one for a Mississippi band. But the mere mention of Blue Mountain to a coffee lover and you’ll get one answer; Blue Mountains are the home of one of the best tasting coffee beans in the world.

Named after the bluish haze of mist that veil its ridges and summits, the Blue Mountains which peak at 7,402 feet are located in the regions of Jamaica. They are ensconced between Kingston and Port Maria in its south and north respectively and are said to be the highest in the Caribbean.

When the territory was discovered in 1494 by Columbus, heavy forests occupied these mountains. These, however, were gradually cleared by the settlers for cattle ranches. The lower slopes were turned into grasslands while some sections were used for farming of spices and vegetables. These slopes are also the haven of the celebrated and well-renowned Blue Mountain coffee beans.

The chronicle of Blue Mountain roasts

It was Sir Nicholas Lawes, a Governor that first introduced coffee seedlings from Hispaniola to the mountains of Jamaica in 1728. With the rich soil, the cool and steamy climate and the occasions of high rainfall in the region, the place is considered to be ideal for coffee cultivation.

By the 19th century, the world established an interest on blue mountain coffee beans and Jamaica was pronounced the leading coffee producer. With this prominence, Jamaica’s Coffee Industry Board was established to monitor the agriculture of coffee and to nurture the Blue mountain coffee industry. The Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee bean carries with it a globally protected certification mark. The Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica maintains control on the use of the Blue Mountain coffee label.

The board has established certain criteria to specify what coffee may be allowed to carry the trademark. A Coffee Industry Regulations Act was promulgated for this purpose. Regionally, it asserts that the coffee beans grown and plucked from the parishes of Saint Thomas, Saint Andrew, Saint Mary and Portland may have the benefit of using the label. Further, mountain elevations were also considered. Those grown from 3,000 to 5,500 feet elevations are considered Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans. Those in the range of 1,500 to 3,000 are known as Jamaica High Mountains and the ones below that are specified as Jamaica Low Mountain or Jamaica Supreme.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Hartwell

The Coffee House? Latte Can be Just as Good at Home

Where do you go for your best coffee? Perhaps you go to your local coffee house. Latte, espresso, mocha - all is available at reasonable cost. But what is reasonable?

Of course, the question of cost means different things to different people. Nobody can deny the sociable aspects of having a coffee in a coffee house. Latte somehow does not taste the same without the social environment. And, of course, there are other features associated with coffee houses that draw punters in for that leisurely cup.

But consider the alternative - or when you simply can't or don't want to go out. What better thing to be able to do than have that perfect cup of coffee in the home. With modern machines this is eminently possible and practical. Gone are the days when the precision of producing a cup of decent coffee was such that you needed a science degree to even attempt it. Gone is the mess and the wastage. Say hello to sparkling new machines, built for the purpose of producing coffee that an expert would be hard pressed to distinguish from the real thing produced elsewhere at four times the cost.

And, incidentally, it IS the real thing. Coffee beans and coffee flavors are available for your home machine at reasonable cost and from reasonable sources. You just have to look and you will find. No more detective work in finding product sources, no more juggling the budget. No more settling for an inferior product due to cost of complexity considerations.

Perfectly stylish and robust coffee machines are available from hundreds of online and offline stores. They fit the bill for coffee making in the same way that they do the pocket. They are as affordable as you want them to be and, treated well, will last years. Now, there are no more excuses for venturing to the coffee house. Latte is on your doorstep.

Find out more about coffee and coffee makers

Find out more about coffee and coffee makers

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Hartwell

Coffee Flavors

The delicious coffee beans are basically organized into 4 categories:

1. chocolate flavors (like mint chocolate)
2. fruit flavors (like coconut or raspberry)
3. vanilla flavors (like Irish Creme, French Vanilla, Hazelnut o Macadamia)
4. spice flavors (like cinnamon)

Which is best is a matter of personal taste but vanilla flavors tend to be the most popular.