While we love one cup of coffee just as much as the next, every growing region has its own unique culture and history. On our blog, we’ve already looked at two coffee regions — Colombia and Ethiopia:
This month, we wanted to take a look at Jamaica and their culture beyond coffee, ranging from the Rastafari movement and Jamaican Rum to their ability to produce some of the world’s best Olympic track and field athletes.
And when it comes to your next cup of coffee, opt for fresh coffee beans — always roasted to order — from Kaldi Gourmet Coffee Roasters.
A Look at Jamacian Culture
Picture a community where reggae music moves the soul and inspires different forms of art and dance. Jamaican culture has adopted some British aspects from the early colonizers interspersed with a blend of their African heritage. This blend is also shown through their religious diversity, with a large Christian culture existing on the island in addition to elements from other ancient African religions.
Rastafari Movement
The 1930s saw a large Rastafari movement, expressed heavily through reggae music. You’re probably most familiar with Bob Marley who became a large component of this religious and social movement in the 1960s and 70s.
The religious beliefs of Rasta draw heavily from the Christian Old and New Testaments along with Haile Selassie, the Ethiopian Emperor seen as the God of the Black race. This Rastafaria movement spread around the world with a revival of Rastafari-focused reggae in the 1990s.
Music
With Bob Marley’s contribution to music, it’s not surprising that Jamaica produces the most recorded music per capita. Some of the most popular music genres include reggae, dub music, mento, ska, and rocksteady. The unique blend of cultures in Jamaica has created music that blends African elements with other influences, like American jazz and R&B.
Jamacian Rum
Barbados, another Carribean island, is considered to be the birthplace of rum, dating back to 1703. Jamaica began producing rum in the early 1700s, and actually has the most rum bars per square mile!
But what makes Jamaican rum stand out from the others? The rum is molasses fermented in a process called “wild” fermentation, giving it distinct fruity and funky flavors.
Olympic Athletes
With the 2020 Summer Olympics just around the corner, it’s also important to recognize Jamaica for their track and field athletes. Jamaica consistently produces some of the fastest sprinters in the world — three out of the four fastest men ever are Jamaican.
During the 2016 Summer Olympics, Jamaica took 11 medals, all for track and field athletes, almost matching the 12 medals they won at the 2012 Summer Olympics!
Order Fresh Coffee Beans
While we’ve barely uncovered Jamaica’s rich culture, we hope that you can tell how multifaceted their country and people are. Make sure you try our coffee of the month, Jamaican Rum flavored coffee, and order fresh coffee beans from Kaldi Gourmet Coffee Roasters.
Learn more about other coffee growing regions around the world and our fresh coffee beans on our blog:
