Expanding Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee in the EU

What Buyers Want

Expanding Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee in the EU Windward Commodities 30th June 2022

This was reinforced by discussions with speciality traders, although their focus is more on ‘value’ (price plus cupping score). This is important for JBM, As a scarce, premium brand in an industry where farmer numbers are declining, quality is critical to ensure value and underpin demand, even from long-term and loyal customers. Part of the problem here is that comparison of coffees, pricing and value is subjective. Whilst all speciality buyers linked Arabica coffee quality (and some specialty Robustas) to cupping scores, JBM producers and distributors talk to the ‘unique taste profile’ of JBM coffee, which is tightly controlled by JACRA before export. However, the view of the majority of EU buyers was that the sort of consistent ‘clean’ taste profile presented by JBM cannot support the sort of price premium that it currently commands in the future without innovation and quality upgrading.

6.3. Wake Up and ‘Cup’ the Coffee

gap in terms of presenting cup scores to speciality buyers at source, and/ or educating processors and farmers locally on cupping techniques and related crop improvements. In line with the criticism from JBM producers, cupping is generally acknowledged to be somewhat subjective. However, criteria arebeing increasingly tightened to ensure read across and it is increasingly critical to retaining a strong specialty position as a premium origin. Both Hawaii and Panama have based successful revitalisations on competitions like the Cup of Excellence which are highly rigorous, where each coffee that is entered gets evaluated (cupped) upward of 120 times. This extreme level of quality verification sets the Cup of Excellence competitions apart and provides roasters and consumers assurance around quality. Cupping scores also relate directly to price as shown here in analysis from the ‘Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide 2020/21’. The higher the cupping score the higher the price.

What quality means in practice in the specialty coffe market is ‘cupping’. Under the Speciality Coffee Association (SCA) system, cupping scores range from 0-100 and have clear criteria with scoring factors including fragrance/ aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, uniformity and balance, clean cup and sweetness. Cupping must be officially undertaken by a certified coffee taster (SCA) or a licenced Q Grader (trained and certified by the Coffee Quality Institute), and is usually done at source, as well as by buyers from samples provided. Some buyers classify coffees with scores over 80 as speciality, but most target 85 as a starting point. Q Grader certification courses are exceptionally challenging – 13 people nominated by JACRA recently attended a course, no-one has yet been certified and there are no Q Graders or SCA cupping experts in-country. Whilst JACRA specifies and controls the quality criteria for JBM coffee as a cupping profile and size, humidity, and defects of beans, the absence of a Q Grader leaves a

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