Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

I am a big coffee drinker.  Since I was 12 years old, I have been enjoying coffee of all types, but as I have grown older, my taste buds have become more refined.  I now drink coffee almost every day, and I drink it well.  I manage a Starbucks and have had the opportunity to enjoy the best coffees from around the world.  Yes, there are surely some of you who cannot appreciate the subtleties of a single-origin coffee or a darkly roasted bean.  Some of you may reply to this article, stating, “Starbucks and Peet’s burn their coffee.  It’s so gross!  How can you like that?”  To you undereducated knaves, I say open up your minds and mouths to new experiences, and you may find that not all coffee from all companies is the same.  If you prefer a lighter java, drink a lighter blend of a gourmet coffee.  The world of gourmet coffee is not all deep, dark flavors, but is in fact a range of different roasts for different moods, tastes and even times of day.  From light roasts to dark roasts, each coffee has something special to offer, and I am always looking for ways to expand my palate in regards to coffee, the most sacred of all beans.  I received a new type of bean in a sealed half-pound bag as a gift and decided that I would try it out.  The packaging was nice, as the unmarked silver flavor-lock bag was packaged inside a burlap sack with blue lettering, which read Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee 100%.  I was, however, a bit confused as to what the 100% was for.  Was it 100% Arabica beans?  100% Jamaican beans?  100% flavor?  100% marketing gimmick?  The tests will prove the result.  The whole beans inside the bag were a roasted to a cinnamon color, which is standard for most coffee companies, and a good majority of commercial coffee in the world is roasted to this color.  From this, I gathered that this coffee would not be of the same caliber as a gourmet roasted coffee, like a Starbucks or a Peet’s, as a deeper roast tends to unlock more of the beans flavors.  The aroma of the bean was a peanut-buttery nuttiness.  This fits with the region, as coffees from Colombia and Latin America tend to have a nutty aroma.  The aroma of the brewed coffee was a lot different than the aroma of the beans.  While the peanut scent was still evident, the brew had also produced a bit of a smoky smell, and I would not call it pleasant.  Think more burning plastic as opposed to a hickory or charcoal smell.  Upon slurping the coffee, the forward acidity of the brew was ever present.  Its body it light, but that lightness lingers in the mouth, as if I ate a handful of walnuts, leaving a sort of waxy-dry feel in my mouth.  The flavor is mild and a bit nutty, but as the acidity and flavor are lingering, they created an unpleasant aftertaste that could be compared to stale pipe smoke.  I feel as though I need to brush my teeth.  My overall impression of this coffee is…meh.  I don’t hate it.