JAMAICA STANDARD PRODUCTS COMPANY

The factory may not look like much, but this is where one of the world's finest coffees, Blue Mountains Coffee, is made from beans picked one by one according to strict rules in the high Jamaican mountains in the center of the island. The roasting days are the most interesting, as you can see the entire process of coffee making. A modest sales stand offers Blue Mountains coffee at a much better price than the supermarkets, a good deal. We recommend that you call ahead to let us know you're coming, thus avoiding the end-of-month inventory closures. Founded in Kingston on September 17, 1942 by Leslie Minott, the company began by exporting Jamaican spices to Great Britain and the United States. During the war years, exports were suspended and the company turned to bottling syrup. In 1943, the founder decided to settle in Mandeville and started the production of pimento oil, which he would export to Europe and its perfume industries. Coffee production did not start until 1952, when international prices boomed. Jamaican Standard Products is now the country's largest coffee producer with 45% of the production exported. At the height of the season, during the harvest period, the company employs some 450 people.