US-based Jamaican coffee farmer imports 400 LBS
A New Jersey-based coffee company has imported 400 pounds of coffee grown from Jamaican farms it acquired two decades ago.
Reggie’s Roast Coffee, which has been in business since the 1990s, primarily buys coffee from local farmers, but is now looking to begin harvesting another set of the crop from its farms that spans 25 acres in New Monkland Farm and The Brook Lodge Estate in St Thomas.
This benchmark achievement has brought Reggie’s Roast Coffee one step closer as they are now the only grower, importer, roaster, and distributor of Jamaica Blue mountain Coffee operating as such on US soil, the company said.
“We’re very pleased with this year’s crop and securing a high-grading from the Jamaican Coffee Board,” said Reggie Chung Loy, the Jamaican founder and CEO. He added that his company, through partnership with the Blue Mountain Coffee Venture, which processes and exports the beans to the US helps the company to ensure consistent supply and excellent quality.
The coffee is processed under strict guidelines in compliance with the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board’s standards, and is then exported to their US roasting facility in Linden, where it is freshly roasted and distributed for retailers and consumers online.
Reggie’s Roast supplies retailers including Whole Foods, Stop ‘n Shop and Amazon, as well as provide freshly-roasted coffee directly to the public from Reggie’s Roast online store, reaching customers in all 50 states in the US. It also sells to Canada.
While there are no immediate plans to penetrate other international markets, Reggie Barrow said the company is always looking to get to larger retailers and new markets.
“There’s always potential, but it would have to be in the right situation and at the proper time,” the sales manager told the Caribbean Business Report.
Reggie’s Roast products include 100 per cent Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, and 100 per sent Jamaica Blue Mountain Pearberry coffee. It has five Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee blends, namely Rasta Blend; Irie Blend; Panama Blend; Blue Papua Blend; and Negril Blend.
