Up in the lofty Blue Mountains of eastern Jamaica, where daybreak must sift through the early morning mist, lies Mavis Bank, and a small rural town. This is the site of Jamaica’s exalted “black gold”, the home of the Mavis Bank Central Factory, the domain of the world’s beloved blue Mountain Coffee.The Mavis Bank Factory was built on just five acres of land in 1923, when Victor C. Munn, an English planter and processor, established what would become a family business for generations. In the 1940-1950, the coffee planters of the Blue Mountain region were sending their harvests to the factory of Mavis Bank, where the coffee was processed. Two other depulping machines were still in function at that time, but on a cooperative basis. Coffee planters of the region can actually boast of a long lineage between their family and Mavis Bank's Jablum's Blue Mountain Coffee. Mavis Bank Central Factory, which was destroyed by fire in 1955, has been rebuilt and modernised by Victor Munn's nephew, Keble Munn, with the help of an English trading company - Thomas Hankey & Co. - which then sold the coffee harversted on this property. The original name of the Munn's property has been left behind and is now relegated to memory.
Mavis Bank remains a place where time seems to stand still. It is a corner of the world where modern conveniences sit quietly amid unspoiled terrain, where simple sounds and the slightest temperature changes are amplified. Favoured by the ultimate combination of the ideal altitude, mineral-rich soil, gentle cloud cover, mountain shade and ample sunlight, the berry grown in the Blue Mountains takes longer than others to mature. More time, some claim, for its rich flavour and aroma develop. More time, others argue, for its signature character to evolve.
Mavis Bank Central Factory now produces its own Blue Mountain coffee, roasted and vacuumed packed at their production centre in Mavis Bank. Their private label is known as JABLUM. Coffee aficionados agree the Jablum taste is wonderfully exotic a balanced medley of fleeting richness, sweetness and tempered acidity. But it is the lingering experience, the haunting aftertaste that still defies description. Jablum’s coffee experience, after all, has been cradled in well-guarded tradition for generations. All Mavis Bank Central Factory's Jablum coffees are certified by the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica and their package bears their sceal.Today, Jablum maintains its rank as the world’s most sought-after coffee...