Fire blazes through Jamaican plantations, Jm$500m damage caused
Last weekend an estimated 350 acres of arable land in Jamaica went up in flames. The fires raged, pushing through fields in Flamstead and the surrounding Mavis Bank vicinity, destroying cash crops without mercy.
The inferno was described as “the worst in the history of the area,” said one resident and has severely affected the Caribbean nation’s coffee farmers who grow the prized Blue Mountain variety that the island is famed for.
…continue reading Fire blazes through Jamaican plantations, Jm$500m damage caused
Taskforce set up to curb counterfeit Blue Mountain
“We have numerous reports from persons staying at some of our hotels that the taste profile of coffee purported to be Blue Mountain coffee is different,” said the Chairman of Jamaica’s Coffee Industry Board, Delano Franklyn.
Mr Franklyn was speaking at a media event earlier this weekend organised to discuss the problematic rise of counterfeit Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, and announce the formation of a Brand Infringement and Enforcement Taskforce.
…continue reading Taskforce set up to curb counterfeit Blue Mountain
Miss Jamaica Universe promotes national coffee brand
Yendi Phillipps is on tour. And she has many reasons to smile so dazzlingly. She is now representing her country around the world as she is the current reigning champion, Miss Jamaica Universe. In 2010, she came nail-bitingly close to winning the overall Miss Universe pageant which took place in Las Vegas in the United States – she was pipped to the post, but still came in with a respectable second place.
Miss Phillipps now has another agenda – she has become an ambassador for one of her nation’s most famous and luxurious coffee brands, Blue Mountain coffee. When in Japan recently, her role included representing two national coffee industry organisations: the country’s Coffee Industry Board and also the Association of Japanese Importers of Jamaican Coffee. Although the coffee’s flavour is well-known, it cannot hurt to have a beautiful ambassador promoting its virtues in another country for export.
As well as her promotion of the Jamaican coffee culture, Miss Phillipps has been carrying out some humanitarian work during her trip to Japan. She has paid a visit to the area of Sendai which was badly hit by the recent tsunami and earthquake, stopping by at an evacuation centre to serve the Blue Mountain coffee to those staying in the centre as a pick-me-up. The other attendees at the centre included the Vice Governor of the Miyagi Prefecture and the Jamaican Ambassador. Some local musicians also played to raise spirits of those who had been so badly affected by the natural disasters.