New Addition to the 6th Annual Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, through the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), has announced an exciting new addition to their 6th annual Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival: The Coffee Innovation Competition. This online contest will bring together creative innovators from across the island, stimulate the local economy, and promote interest in the country’s world-famous Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee.

“It gives me great pride to announce our first annual Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Innovation Competition, an exciting initiative that seeks to find entrepreneurs with innovative products and processes that may ultimately aid in driving the growth of our coffee industry,” said Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett.

“With this competition, we aim to showcase our country’s unique and diverse coffee culture by encouraging creativity and innovation in product development,” he added.

Competitors can enter under categories such as arts and crafts, beauty and wellness, etc., with creativity, originality, and presentation among the criteria taken into consideration to determine the winner. Entrants are then required to submit an engaging 60-second video explaining their creation to coffeeinnovationcompetition@gmail.com. These entries will then be posted on the festival’s Instagram page (@jamaicacoffeefest).

Followers of the Instagram page will have a chance to vote for their favourite entry by liking the respective posts, before the deadline closes at 4:00 p.m. on March 10th, 2023, when the top 5 finalists will be announced. The entry with the most likes shall win exciting prizes such as gift baskets, gift certificates, and business opportunities, including a prominent feature in TEF’s Christmas in July Trade Show’s catalogue, as well as an opportunity to debut their product at the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival.

“I urge all entrepreneurs to get their creative thinking caps on so they can capitalise on this unique opportunity, which we hope will transform how we traditionally think about our iconic Blue Mountain Coffee. It is an exciting opportunity to showcase your creativity and make an impact on the industry. It can also help you gain valuable connections and visibility while providing you with invaluable feedback on how to refine and improve your work,” said TEF’s Executive Director, Dr. Carey Wallace.

The Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival will take place on March 25, 2023, in the hills of the world-renowned Blue Mountains on the historic Newcastle parade grounds. It is a one-of-a-kind experience that celebrates coffee, culture, and community and showcases a range of coffee purveyors, local manufacturers, artisans, food tastings, cooking demonstrations, live entertainment, baristas and mixologists, and more.

Organized by the Tourism Linkages Network, a division of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, the festival is designed as Jamaica’s flagship coffee experience, demonstrating our rich tradition of coffee production while showcasing Blue Mountain coffee and the diversity of coffee through coffee-related products and experiences.