JACRA: How Jamaica Certifies Blue Mountain Coffee

JACRA, the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority, is the statutory body that decides which coffee may be sold as Jamaica Blue Mountain. It was created by the JACRA Act of 2017, and its 2018 regulations govern who may grow, process, deal in and export the coffee, and on what records and conditions.

What is JACRA, and what did it replace?

Jamaica's House of Representatives passed the bill creating JACRA on September 20, 2016, the Jamaica Information Service reported, after a 2009 ministry-commissioned study questioned whether separate commodity boards still made sense. The new authority took over the Coffee Industry Board, the Cocoa Industry Board, the regulatory functions of the Coconut Industry Board and the ministry's export division for spices. Minister Karl Samuda told the House that JACRA would be responsible for the development, regulation, promotion and standardisation of the agricultural commodities industry.

The Coffee Industry Board it replaced had been set up in 1950, according to WIPO's case study, to maintain and standardize the quality of exported coffee, and it was described as the only certifying agency for Jamaican coffee. Much of the certification system buyers know, including the protected marks, carried over to JACRA.

What does JACRA actually do?

According to a summary published by the Jamaica Coffee Exporters Association, JACRA's services fall into three groups. Licensing covers dealers, processors, works and nurseries, along with trademark registration and monitoring of trademark users. Certification covers defining quality standards and growing areas, certifying commodity quality, sample testing and preparing export documentation. Technical services cover training, demonstrations and recommending suitable varieties and areas.

Its legal functions, set out in the Act, include setting and enforcing standards of quality, grading and certification for export, import and local trade, and specifying which varieties are most suitable to grow.

How does coffee move through the system?

The 2018 regulations build a paper trail from farm to ship. The main steps:

• Registered growers and properties. Growers of a commercially significant quantity apply for a certificate of registration, which carries a unique ID. JACRA keeps a Register of Registered Growers and Registered Properties, updated annually (regulations 8 to 10).
• Receipts on delivery. When a registered grower delivers coffee to a dealer, the grower must show the certificate and give a signed receipt naming the quantity and the property where it was grown (regulation 14).
• Dealer records. Dealers must record every purchase and sale, including quantity, the grower's registration number, the property, the price and, where applicable, the grade, and keep those records for at least seven years (regulation 15).
• Coffee works records. Licensed coffee works that process Blue Mountain or High Mountain coffee, or their blends, must keep a record of the source of the coffee or of each blend ingredient (regulation 23).
• Export custody. Green coffee approved for export stays in JACRA's physical custody, while the authorized dealer keeps ownership, and JACRA exports it on the dealer's behalf (regulation 22).

The regulations also set basic quality floors. Regulation 18 bars commercial picking, sale or purchase of coffee containing entirely green berries, black berries mixed with stones or trash, coffee dried in the double husk, or coffee not dried to the Authority's standards.

Who owns the Blue Mountain trademark?

The licence application forms attached to the 2018 regulations state that, for coffee, a dealer's licence is subject to a User Licence Agreement with Coffee Marks Limited, described as a company wholly owned by JACRA. WIPO's case study lists the marks held abroad: a United States certification mark (No. 1,414,598), a European Union trademark (No. 002093060) and a United Kingdom certification trademark (No. 1222993). Jamaica's Protection of Geographical Indications Act, 2004 also protects geographical names without registration, and in 2011 the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office said it was working on geographical indication protection for Blue Mountain coffee.

What happens to people who break the rules?

Using the words "Blue Mountain" or "High Mountain" in the coffee trade without JACRA's written authority is an offence under regulation 21, with a maximum fine of two million Jamaican dollars or up to twelve months in prison in default. Enforcement has come in waves. In 2014 the Coffee Industry Board set up a Brand Infringement and Enforcement Task Force that bought and tested Blue Mountain-labeled coffee and gave Jamaica Customs a list of licensed dealers, Daily Coffee News reported. In 2020, JACRA announced a drive with the National Compliance and Regulatory Authority and the Major Organised Crime Authority against coffee misrepresented as Blue Mountain or High Mountain, the Jamaica Observer reported.

What does certification not cover?

Certification answers a narrow question: is this coffee what its protected name says it is, and does it meet the grade standard? It does not rank brands or estates, set retail prices, judge roast quality, or guarantee freshness once a bag has left the roaster. A certified lot can still be roasted badly or sit on a shelf for a year. Nor does JACRA's authority reach far beyond Jamaica's borders: once coffee is abroad, protection depends on the registered marks and on the trademark and consumer law of the country where it is sold.

What can a buyer check?

Most buyers will never see a JACRA export certificate, and the regulations do not prescribe a consumer-facing seal in their text. What a buyer can check is the label and the seller: a "100% Jamaica Blue Mountain" statement, a named Jamaican roaster, estate or licensed exporter, and a seller willing to say where the coffee came from. Our guide to spotting fake Blue Mountain coffee turns that into a checklist, and the 30% blend rule explains what a "Blend" label allows.

For the grading side of certification see Blue Mountain coffee grades; for comparison with another regulated island coffee, read how Hawaii handles Kona coffee labels. The overview is on our Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee page.