Jamaican coffee finding new life on the plate

WESTERN BUREAU:

For generations, Jamaicans have known coffee as comfort, brewed strong, shared freely, and sometimes treated as a cure-all for everything from flu to fatigue.

But in the hands of executive chef and culinary doyenne Jacqui Tyson, Jamaican coffee is being reimagined, not just as a drink, but as a flavour, a technique, and an experience.

At a culinary showcase hosted at the offices of the Tourism Enhancement Fund in New Kingston on January 9, Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Day, Tyson demonstrated how Jamaican coffee, particularly Blue Mountain, can transform savoury dishes, desserts, sauces, and even cocktails. The event was less about novelty and more about intention: extracting the soul of coffee and embedding it thoughtfully into food.

“It’s not about dusting food with instant coffee and calling it infused,” Tyson explained. “Coffee is like wine. You taste the citrus, the bitter, the sweet. It rolls over the tongue. If we can capture those nuances in food, especially with jerk, it becomes something special.”

Tyson’s approach treats coffee as a seasoning, tenderiser, and balance agent. In savoury applications, she highlighted how coffee enhances proteins such as chicken and pork, particularly pork tenderloin, a cut often overlooked in Jamaican kitchens.

“Pork is naturally sweet,” she noted. “The bitterness of the coffee tempers that sweetness beautifully. But coffee works best with quick cooking, flash roasting, grilling, [and] pan-searing. The longer it sits on the heat, the more bitter it becomes.”

That philosophy informed the dishes served on the day: jerk chicken breast finished with a grated coffee rub and a coffee-balsamic glaze; pork tenderloin marinated with coffee and cooked quickly to preserve flavour; caramelised onions subtly loosened with liquid coffee rather than powder.

Her now-signature coffee-balsamic glaze, a blend of coffee, balsamic vinegar, a touch of sugar and white wine, emerged as the star.

“It’s our secret weapon,” Tyson said. “You don’t even have to say it’s coffee. You can drizzle it on salads, lamb, grilled meats, [or] even use it in cocktails.”

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, who sampled the dishes, said the experience reinforced coffee’s role as a sensory ambassador for Jamaica.

“You don’t necessarily taste coffee in an obvious way,” Bartlett observed. “What it does is stimulate the taste buds. It creates a different feeling, and somehow, you feel that Jamaican-ness.”

Bartlett also pointed to Jamaica’s growing potential as a coffee-driven destination, noting that Blue Mountain Coffee occupies a revered place in the global coffee ecosystem because of the region’s unique geophysical features and microclimates.

That character will be on full display in March, when Jamaica stages the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival, an event that has blended agriculture, culture, tourism, and now, serious gastronomy.

Tyson is particularly excited about the festival’s evolving culinary focus, including chef competitions that require participants to use coffee as a core ingredient.

“I want to see coffee-infused meat rubs, sauces, chefs really pushing boundaries,” she said. “You must use coffee. That’s the rule.”

With coffee now appearing cold-brewed, whipped, paired with plant-based milks, and folded into desserts and savoury dishes alike, the festival reflects a broader shift in how Jamaicans, especially younger consumers, engage with coffee.

As Jamaica prepares for the March 7 festival, one thing is clear: coffee is no longer confined to the cup. It is being plated, glazed, rubbed, baked, whipped, and shaken, telling a deeper story about heritage, experimentation, and modern Jamaican cuisine.

And if chefs like Tyson have their way, the next time visitors think of Jamaican coffee, they won’t just sip it, they’ll taste it, bite into it, and remember it.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com