wallenford blue – jamaicamocha

These three brands sell Jamaica Blue Mountain (JBM) coffee but over the years their stories were somewhat intertwined.

Things to know historically.

Jablum is the most known brand globally of JBM.

Wallenford is the oldest brand and was formerly the regulator of all JBM until Government split its regulatory from marketing functions in about the late 90s.

Island Blue is the newest but owns the largest non-blue mountain coffee lands.

Things to know about current ownership:

Wallenford was acquired by Canadian billionaire Michael Lee-Chin in 2013 and then in 2016 he also acquired Jablum.

IslandBlue was formerly called ‘Wallenford Blue’ but ceased paying royalties for the use of the name when Wallenford was acquired by Lee-Chin. Island Blue is owned by Jamaica Standard Products (JSP) which buys Jamaica Blue Mountain beans and brands it as Island Blue. JSP also separately operates the largest Jamaica High Mountain factory in the island. High Mountain coffee is farmed outside the Jamaica Blue Mountain region. Its High Mountain products are not branded as Island Blue.

Things to know about taste profile.

Wallenford and Jablum are both large JBM producers and now owned by a common company. Both brands share space and facilities now. It is not immediately clear whether all buying and roasting operations are amalgamated. A general tip however is that Wallenford offers a chocolatey nutty and lemon almost wine taste profile while Jablum is light cocoa and at times hazelnut to vanilla.

Island Blue is more chocolatey with spice tones.

The coffee nation of Jamaica will hike imports amidst slashing its local production by nearly half to 20-year lows.
Consequently, Government aims to formulate a coffee importation policy.
“Its a troubling situation,” said John Minott, president of the Jamaica Coffee Growers Association, (JCGA) at the Coffee Industry Stakeholders Retreat on the weekend at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston.
Rust disease, hurricanes and the abandonment of farms has reduced available trees and therefore production since the onset of the Western financial crisis in 2008.
“It’s not something that the JCGA is trying to promote but the stark reality is that today…we have to import coffee for certain segments of the market.”
Minott argued for an importation window during which replanting should occur.
Coffee imports hit some US$1.78 million in 2012 up some 23 per cent since 2008, according to data from the International Trade Centre (ITC) a joint agency of the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations.
Contrastingly, exports dipped by double-digit levels to some US$17.3 million in 2012, according to the latest Bank of Jamaica data. But the crop traditionally earned about US$25 million annually up to the onset of the financial crisis.

Tag: wallenford blue

The difference between Jablum, Island Blue and Wallenford

Jamaica will import coffee