RSS Feed

Related Articles

Related Categories

The crème de la crème of gourmet coffee

9th July 2010 Print
Sea Island Coffee

Sea Island Coffee Ltd., Europe’s leading specialist in exotic coffees, has launched its “rarest coffees” range for Europe, Russia and the Middle East. Sourced almost exclusively from remote islands, the coffees are extremely rare and coveted and, as a result, expensive to source and produce. Indeed, many of these coffees are completely new to European Middle Eastern palates and available for the very first time.

Guy Wilmot, Chief Coffee Taster at Sea Island Coffee said, “Coffee is really coming of age in Europe and the Middle East. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was freeze dried coffee; the 1990s heralded the mass market coffee chains; and as we start this new decade, people are learning that there is a lot more to coffee than meets the eye. In fact, this evolution has followed a course similar to the way the wine market has developed. People want to know about its origin, its story and terroir.

“The range of rare coffees that we are launching represents the crème de la crème of gourmet exotic coffees. This is the opposite to the mass market. Some of the coffees that we source are only available in a few bags. Take New Caledonia coffee - only 1000kg are produced annually. Alamid and Kopi Luwak, produced by civet cats in the Philippines and Indonesia respectively, is another rare coffee.

“Of course, gourmet exotic coffee is nothing new. Jamaica Blue Mountain, another of our coffees, is probably the best known elite coffee out there. Hawaii Kona is also popular to coffee aficionados worldwide. What we wanted to do was source coffees from exotic origins that had until now been the preserve of only the very few. Coffee is an affordable luxury. If we compare it with wine, even the most expensive coffees come at an affordable price. There is a whole world of weird and wonderful coffees out there to experience. And they have wonderful stories and pedigree, so you’re not only drinking the coffee, but experiencing the culture of the origin itself.”

This rare coffee range includes:

Philippine Alamid Kopi Luwak
Rare and highly-prized, Philippine Alamid Kopi Luwak coffee is produced by civets, a cat-like relative of the mongoose, who have a taste for the sweet, red coffee cherries that contain the beans. The beans pass through the civet after fermenting in the stomach, which gives the coffee part of its unique taste and aroma. Collected from the jungle floor, then thoroughly washed and dried, Philippine Alamid Kopi Luwak has a full body, caramel overtones and low acidity.

Jacu Bird Camocim Estate
Another unusual rarity, this coffee is produced by the Jacu Bird in the Pedra Azul region of Brazil. These indigenous birds roam the forested plantations looking for the ripest cherries to feast on before excreting the coffee for collection by locals. It is characterized by a sweetness and acidity unusual for coffees grown in this region.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Clifton Mount Estate
An exquisite balance of aroma, body, and acidity with a mellow, sweet aftertaste make Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee a consistent choice by coffee connoisseurs as one of the world’s very best coffees. It produces the quintessential Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee with characteristic smoothness and mild acidity, a creamy aftertaste and hints of chocolate with floral undertones.

St Helena Napoleon Valley Estate
Grown on one of the remotest islands in the world, St Helena, and the last home of Napoleon (exiled there in 1815), Napoleon Valley Estate is the rarest coffee in the world with production rarely going above 1000kg annually. Prized for its fruitiness, this is a favourite of Japanese coffee connoisseurs, among others.

New Caledonia, Domaine du Kouandji Estate
Coffee was first introduced to New Caledonia by monks of the Marist Brothers order in 1860. A favourite of Sir Winston Churchill and Honore de Balzac. Coffea laurina is characterized by its high cup quality and is naturally half the caffeine content of regular coffee. Only 1,000 kg of this coffee are produced every year and the entire production is the special reserve of ourselves and the Elysee Palace, as New Caledonia is a “department” of France.

Greenwell Estate Hawaii Kona Private Reserve
Rivalling Jamaica Blue Mountain as one of the world’s most popular exotic coffees, Kona coffee is characterized by a heady aroma, light acidity, touches of red wine and spices, and a smooth, medium body.

Costa Rica, Geisha
Geisha, one of the Ethiopian wild coffee varieties, is an ancient and very rare coffee variety. It is grown on the Coffea diversa plantation in Costa Rica, close to the Panamanian border. The plantation is incredibly special as it grows the largest number of different coffee varieties in the world. Coffea diversa has pioneered the botanical garden approach to coffee cultivation in which aspect the Estate remains unique.

For more information, visit: seaislandcoffee.com

More Photos - Click to Enlarge

Sea Island Coffee