For all coffee lovers, both locally and internationally, something interesting is coming your way. Make a note on your calendars that Saturday, March 25, 2023, is the date when the highly anticipated Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival will make its grand return.
The sixth staging of the annual event was launched on 9th January 2023 at Devon House, in Kingston, and is set to take place at its traditional home – Newcastle, St. Andrew in Jamaica.
For this year, patrons can expect to be treated to the usual abundance of food, coffee, and culture, as well as a bouquet of activities that include a farmers’ day/festival marketplace, a barista competition, coffee panel discussions, and a mixologist competition to create signature Jamaica coffee cocktails.
There will be many attractions including a month-long celebration of the Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, as well as visits to the attractions along the Blue Mountains, the promotion of coffee farm tours, and a showcase of the cafes along the Jamaica Blue Mountain culinary trail.
Tourism Minister of Jamaica, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, addressing the launch event, declared: “We’re coming back with a bang this year; a stronger, better, more exciting, more alluring, and a more all-embracing coffee festival.”
Dubbing the event ‘a commercial idea with a value’, the Minister challenged private-sector investors to ‘come on board now’ and invest in the festival.
The Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival is made possible by the Ministry of Tourism, Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Tourism Enhancement Fund, Tourism Linkages Network, Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB).