Japanese examine Jamaica's coffee

THEIR STATED purpose was to visit a number of coffee-processing plants to get first-hand experience of the origin of Jamaican coffee, and members of the East Japan Coffee Roasters Association took that literally, and beyond, during a recent visit. The team toured coffee farms and processing facilities with members of the Coffee Industry Board and other major players, and The Gleaner was present on Monday, February 5, when they visited Clifton Mount, Stoneleigh, subsidiary of the Jamaica Coffee Corporation and Mavis Bank Coffee Factory.

They came, they saw, they questioned and took notes by hand and pictures of everything, using small, sophisticated still and video cameras. From picking and tasting ripe beans, planting seedlings, and taking close-ups of seemingly mundane things such as coffee leaves and the on/off switches at the processing plants, the Asians impressed with their remarkable attention to detail.

Coffee fertiliser

At Clifton Mount when it was explained that the coffee pulp was used to produce organic fertiliser by way of vermi-composting, some members requested and were allowed to use poles to turn the decomposing trash and observed the California Red Worms in action.

Comfortably dressed in jeans and T-shirt for the most part, they wore track shoes and other such footwear which seemed inappropriate for walking the mountains. However, they scrambled along hillsides, investigating everything with an ease that would have embarrassed some locals. Then getting on the buses, they would discuss enthusiastically what they had just seen before disembarking at the next stop very upbeat in anticipation of what next they would encounter.

Whether it was their limited command of English, or my inability to comprehend Japanese that restricted the chances of any detailed one-on-one conversations, their questions, facilitated by interpreter Mitsuo Sayamg, were probing and detailed.

However, the day was not all about work, and at Clifton Mount, the Sharps put on a lavish spread at the family house, where the more than 20 Japanese visitors were treated to a delectable array of Jamaican cuisine including roasted breadfruit, jerked pork and chicken, coconut rice, and sweet potato salad. There was, of course, an international flavour - Rosemary leg of lamb, and an oh-so-delicious oriental cucumber salad, grilled fish, pineapple salsa, and much more.

all parties satisfied

It was here also that Shigemasao Kedo's intrigue with the roasted breadfruit he was encountering for the first time emerged. Struggling to pronounce it, he was visibly thrilled when Lorna Garwood took him through the steps of peeling, removing the heart (which really impressed), and peeling it. Of course, the longtime Jamaica favourite, Red Stripe beer, also found favour with our visitors.

This leg of the tour achieved much more than the stated objectives, spilling over into a cultural exchange, much to the delight, sometimes consternation, and satisfaction of all involved. The truth will be seen later when the information gleaned will be used to inform the purchasing decisions of the Japanese coffee roasters.

christopher.serju@gleanerjm.com