Blue Mountain Coffee

Potent and strong, Blue Mountain coffee is considered some of the world's finest. Jamaica 's coffee industry can be traced back to 1728 when the first trees were imported from Ethiopia.

You will have many opportunities to buy the coffee, but the best prices are in the Blue Mountains from the farmers themselves. The best coffee comes from the higher altitudes.

Japanese investors own many of the best Blue Mountain coffee plantations and most of the coffee (about 90 percent) is exported to Japan, which accounts for its exorbitant price, even in Jamaica.

Jerk Food Stands

The Jamaican version of fast food, jerk is a terribly misleading name for the best barbecue you will ever eat in the islands. Jerk is a slow cooking process of highly seasoned meat over green pimento wood (allspice).

Jerk pork is the classic but jerk chicken is equally tasty. Every small village has jerk stands, many of them using old oil drums transformed into a huge cooker.

Jerk pork or chicken should be accompanied by the good local beer, Red Stripe. Ask for Red Stripe cold; some Jamaicans like to drink it at room temperature.

Find out about Jamaica's most famous jerk seasoning producer, Walkerswood.

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