'Blue Mountain' coffee claim 'grounds for alarm', says licensed seller

Many coffee products sold at a premium in Hong Kong as "Blue Mountain" have only a remote connection with the Blue Mountain Range in Jamaica from where they are supposed to come, an importer claims.

Jim Coke, CEO of Hilmann Reinier Commodities, which imports Blue Mountain coffee from Jamaica, said he had filed a complaint with the customs department.

He said some coffee carried misleading product descriptions and were in breach of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance.

"Some companies are making coffee they call Blue Mountain without authorisation," Coke said.

He has named two coffee makers and one retailer in the complaint.

When people talk about Blue Mountain, they usually refer to the mountain range in Jamaica that produces one of the world's top coffee beans.

In fact, only coffee grown at elevations between 915 metres and 1,680 metres in the parishes of Saint Andrew, Saint Thomas, Portland and Saint Mary can be called Jamaica Blue Mountain, according to the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica.

Any company that imports Blue Mountain coffee or makes products named as such must get a licence from the board and pay 1 per cent of their revenue to the country.

Items that are made entirely of Blue Mountain coffee beans are called "100% Jamaica Blue Mountain" and have the board's round trademark logo, which shows a barrel in front of a mountain.

The board applied for a "Jamaica Blue Mountain" trademark in Hong Kong last year, but the application is still being processed.

Many companies are still putting "Blue Mountain" on their packaging.

Some local coffee companies not listed as licensees sell "Jamaica Blue Mountain" products in their shops, while many "Blue Mountain" products can be found in supermarkets.

Movenpick and Mr Brown Coffee offer a "Blue Mountain blend", without specifying the proportion of Jamaican beans. Others call themselves "Blue Mountain style".

Coke said the amended Trade Descriptions Ordinance, which bans misleading descriptions and promotions of goods and services, should be able to solve the problem.

The customs' enforcement guidelines for the law states that consumers rightly have expectations over geographical denomination of products.

The Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica said Mr Brown, Movenpick, Zambra and Pacific Coffee were not licensed.

There were strict requirements if products were to be called a Jamaica Blue Mountain blend, according to the board.

But products calling themselves "Blue Mountain Style" or "Blue Mountain Blend" did not infringe the board's trademark because there was no reference to the product being "100% Jamaica Blue Mountain ® coffee", the board's legal officer said.

A Pacific Coffee spokesman said its Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee was bought through a prized licensed coffee roaster in the US.

"In a nutshell, please be ensured, the Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans we sell are genuine and legitimate," the spokesman said.

There was no comment yesterday from Zambra, Movenpick or Mr Brown.