Reply With QuoteWaitrose stock it.
I'm looking for some as a gift for a very good friend who likes his coffee.
Can anyone suggest when to buy it from, its expensive and I don't want to get ripped off.
Waitrose stock it.
Try www.seaislandcoffee.com , price is about right and they deal direct with the distributors so fresh product which is important. Beans, presumably? £16 for a kilo is not bad.
Whittard will send it direct to you.
http://www.whittard.co.uk/coffee/typ...FWTHtAodMS8Ahg
I had some given to me as a present, and it came from Amazon, nicely packaged. It was fantastic, too!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jamaica-Blue...=blue+mountain
It wouldn't be but looks like £16.50/125g to me.Originally Posted by plw
I knew that! :)
Had a look at Sea Island website and they have some interesting stuff and not too badly priced. Might go with them but keep the suggestions coming.
LB
Overhyped unfortunately – there's better beans from elsewhere in the world.
http://www.smokeybarn.co.uk/
http://www.thecoffeehopper.com/category/1/coffees.htm
http://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/types?q=coffee
http://www.greenbeanroasters.com/c-1...-for-home.aspx
http://www.discountcoffee.ie/coffee/...e-roast-coffee
Think I. Even saw it in tesco the other day. Definitely overhyped IMO.
Yes it maybe overhyped but it's is something you probably couldn't justify buying yourself so would be excellent to receive as an unexpected gift :)
Have you thought about giving him/her Civet coffee? Might make some people a bit squeamish, but we were given some a few months ago as a present and it really is all the flavour of a good coffee with none of the bitterness. There are issues around animal cruelty regarding civet coffee, but Sea Island claims that the civet droppings they use (yes, you read that right) are from wild, not farmed civets.
If you don't know about this stuff, check it out. You'll either be amused, disgusted, outraged or fascinated. Or possibly disinterested ;-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak
Thought about it but think it might be a step too far into the bizarre and strange!
I'd like to believe that how you've written that, isn't how you meant it to read.
Overhyped, overpriced - but irrespective, it's just not that great a coffee.
If you don't know how your friend prefers his coffee – espresso, latté, cappuccino, flat white – then your well intentioned plan may ultimately end up being an expensive disappointment for them.
I'm a latté/flat white person, so many (inc the infamous Jamaican Blue Mountain) are useless.
I also only like 100% Arabica, rarely enjoying a Robusta blend, which is great as there's less caffeine in Arabica beans, but less creme than a Robusta blend.
So, if he's an espresso guy mainly, then JBM won't be appreciated, other than for the thought.
Some say it's the thought that counts – not for me, if you're going to do something, you do it right or not at all.
No its not how its meant to read but I know from conversations that JBM is something he would like to try and as he's not awash with disposable income I would like to buy some for him.
He may love or hate it but he can make up his own mind having at least tried it.
He drinks his coffee black, no milk or sugar.
Heard a few things, does seem pricey.
Hasbeen is great and they do nice selection packs that I would love from a friend as a gift!
My dad drinks milky coffee but last Christmas I brought home the waitrose Jamaican Blue Mountain (mentioned above). He drank it black - probably wouldn't buy himself due to cost but loved the experience
Okay, but now we get on to an equally important aspect – does he have a grinder and coffee machine, or is this to be bought pre-ground and used in a percolator or french press?
If it's pre-ground, then I'd say it's definitely a waste of money, since there are differing levels of coarseness for the type of brewing apparatus being used.
Then there's the storing of it – not in the fridge, as that contains moisture!
Storing will also be an issue if it's roasted whole beans, but at least he'll be able to play with the grind level himself to taste the difference that can make.
If it's all a bit basic, his setup, then I doubt he will truly appreciate them over a much lesser expensive bean.
As I've said, for no other reason than to open your eyes (same reason we have Rolex/Grand Seiko arguments on here) to the reality, JBM are overhyped, and overpriced thanks mainly to the Japanese buying the bulk of the yield.
It's also worth bearing in mind, there are beans marketed as JBM, but they do NOT come from the estates that have the right to label theirs as JBM. Probably not an issue using the linked seller in my earlier reply that does them, but it is something to be aware of.
But for the same money spent, he could have 2 or 3 different types of coffee to try or even a full 1 or 2kg of beans from discountcoffee.ie (who are based in NI and used to have a co.uk site that I've forgotten what it was called) that I bought mine from, and got to know and learned a fair bit about various beans from.
He would maybe appreciate that as much, if not more, than the JBM – especially if a perc or press was the method of producing his "black coffee".
If it is, then I honestly believe he'd be disappointed, and like I said, it's just okay – certainly not a fandabbydozzy supercalifragilisticexpialidocious taste.
No matter what, I'm sure he'll be as delighted as anything, to receive a surprise present from a good friend.
From what I know he has a decent grinder and coffee machine, and always buys beans (his Mrs wanted replace them with a Tassimo machine and it nearly caused a divorce). He likes his coffee, all shapes, types and flavours! He's dabbling with Vietnamese coffee at the moment, I'd didn't even know they exported coffee beans.
I appreciate your advice that there are probably much better alternatives for the money but I think he'd like to try JBM. So I'm gonna plump for some single estate beans from a well known supplier.
In that case, the second of my links has them listed, none of the others bother with them.
Cheers will give them a look
Just noticed OOS, so you'll have to contact them for when they'll have it back in again.
That's probably going to be the concern now, finding them in stock freshly roasted – although good packaging should extend freshness until opened for a fair while.
Anywhere you do find them in stock, make sure you ask when they were roasted and packaged. The packaging should have a one-way valve which lets the CO2 escape, but not allow oxygen/air in.
Jamaican Blue Mountain is a smooth, mild and aromatic coffee but is not suitable for espresso. Carefully made with the filter method (not too hot) it can be brilliant. The same can be said of Kupi Luwak (the civet-shit coffee). Both are very overpriced for what they are in my opinion, but undoubtedly make great gifts because they are so expensive.
Since I like arabica-based espresso, with a bit of bitterness (but not sour), I am not keen on either of them.
I'm a bit of a coffee snob and found that JBM coffee was just too weak.
Yes, it tasted ok, but I like to have my coffee stronger.
Here is my set-up.
I even roast my own beans using a Behmour 1600 coffee roaster.
Last edited by PCthug; 11th November 2013 at 11:09.
Can't add to the suggestions - but a prefect gift - as mentioned often not the kind of thing people can justify buying for themselves whereas as a gift far better than an ornament etc.
I bought some once (used to be in a coffee club) and it was the most underwhelming coffee IMO - very subtle, I like some bite and perhaps JBM is too sophisticated for me ;)
Great gift - and everyone should try it so then they can decide for themselves if it's for them.
I'm a bit of a coffee snob and found that JBM coffee was just too weak.
Yes, it tasted ok, but I like to have my coffee stronger.
Here is my set-up.
I even roast my own beans using a Behmour 1600 coffee roaster.
wow love it, does your machine produce good micro foam for flatwhites? if so what is the machine?
It's the British made Fracino Cherub.
Make that £16 for 125 g.
Another source with a choice of grinds or beans is: Drury. I don't know much about their coffees, but regularly buy tea from them.
The problem with it is that when it first started, the high price was justified on the basis that it was someone's job to scour the forest in search of the civet droppings to recover the beans.
Now that people have noticed the demand, they've simply caged a load of civets in disgusting conditions, make them eat coffee beans and harvest the product off the cage floor. The price is still the same but the animals suffer.
Not knocking your source of the product, but I just feel that it's a novelty that most people haven't got the palette or the equipment to appreciate, and we'd be better off not promoting it at all - certainly not as a novelty gift as one poster suggested.
I buy coffee from the Algerian Coffee Stores - not bought any JBM, but you they grind the beans there and then (to your desired degree). I'm using an AeroPress at the moment, so ask for a grind that's just short of espresso.
It takes a little practice, but yes it produces great micro foam.
The original wand end had 4 holes in it, that produced too much foam and heated the milk in about 20 seconds, so I changed it over to a single hole end that works a lot better.
Correct.
I have had it for a few years now and it gets used once or twice per day and never missed a beat.
It cost about £600, so about twice the price of the Gaggia Classic I replaced, yet easily 3 or 4 times the machine.
I know it is.....I reverse looked-up the photo, and saw your thread on CoffeeGeek!
Knew I'd seen it before, but just couldn't remember which it was.
It's a very valid point which I completely accept; I wouldn't advocate buying from sources that use farmed civets, but if you can buy from a more ethical producer, then there really is a huge difference in the smoothness of flavour - all the bitterness really was missing! The irony is that I'm not even a particular fan of coffee, but we were given the beans as a gift, and it served to sate my curiosity about the stuff.
I agree with PJ S.
Jamaican Blue Mountain is definitely overhyped. Also, I've heard estimates that 4 times more Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is sold than is grown within the defined region in the first place.
In any case, the address for Greenbean Coffee below has changed. It's now only available at www.dreambeanscoffee.com and there are some special blends there that are only available online. It's worth checking out.
Ring Steve at Stokes Tea And Coffee, tell him I sent you
https://www.stokes-coffee.co.uk
RIAC
a six year old thread....a Phoenix from the ashes :)
That’s what I thought first time I tried it, not my cup of tea
Posting Permissions
