International Coffee Taster, Norman Grant, has been awarded the designation of Q-Grader from the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) Boot Coffee Campus in San Francisco, California.

The first Jamaican from the private sector, and only the fourth in all to earn that level of qualification, he noted that this is the highest level for quality in coffee and was earned after 19 courses at Boot Coffee Campus in the United States

Grant, a former president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society and member of the Jamaican Senate, is now Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at the Mavis Bank Coffee Factory in rural St Andrew.

“This is an exciting accomplishment with which I will aim to implement programmes that appreciate the value of having globally recognised quality standards in coffee, and to help in the improvement of the quality of life for the 5,000 coffee farmers in Jamaica,” he told the Observer Online on his return home.

“It will also redound to the benefit of my own company, the Mavis Bank Coffee Factory (MBCF), which is now celebrating its 100th-year anniversary, our excellent staff and shareholders, as well as our customers, locally and globally,” he reacted.

In addition to his CQI Certified Q- Grader accreditation, Grant is also an international coffee taster and has been cup tasting coffee for more than 35 years.

Chairman of the Jamaica Coffee Exporters Association, Grant got his accreditation at the Boot Coffee Campus from the Principal, Willem Boot, who presented him with his golden cupping spoon and the highly coveted designation, after his successful completion of all the courses and examinations.

A Q Arabica Grader is a highly trained and calibrated coffee taster, who evaluates coffee using SCA cupping standards and protocols. CQI’s Q Coffee System is an internationally recognised programme for evaluating cup quality based on a standardised system for Arabica Coffee, using protocols developed by the speciality Coffee Association and the Coffee Quality Institute.

The CQI Certified Q-Grader, is globally recognised and works across the entire spectrum of the coffee value chain. The professional certification confers the skill and knowledge to perform coffee evaluation, from farm to importation or exportation of green or roasted coffee beans, in support of maintaining quality levels, in concert with other relevant professionals and is responsible for determining quality standards in the coffee industry globally.

Making the announcement, Michael Lee-Chin, chairman of MBCF, Andover Blue Mountain Coffee Estates and Wallenford Coffee Company Limited, noted that Grant also joined as a director of Wallenford Coffee Company.

He has been responsible for the merged coffee business of Mavis Bank Coffee Factory and Wallenford Coffee Company, reporting to the board of directors. He was appointed managing director and board director of the MBCF in January, 2022.

The MBCF said he continues to bring to the board of directors, and the company, a wealth of knowledge and experience gained from approximately four decades of involvement with the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee and in the coffee value chain of farming.

A certified coffee cup taster, Grant started his career in July 1983 with Jablum Jamaica Limited and Mavis Bank Coffee Factory, where he worked in various capacities within the group of companies, including farming, manufacturing, production, operations, quality control assurance and administration.