Old Tavern Estate

Old Tavern Coffee Estate is a family-run farm on the cool northern slopes of the Blue Mountains, near Hardwar Gap in St Andrew. Alex and Dorothy Twyman bought the property in 1968, and it remains one of the few estates that grows, processes and packs its own coffee entirely by hand, in small batches.

Where Old Tavern is

The estate sits in the area running from Maryland toward Hardwar Gap, on what the travel guide Wikivoyage describes as the cool northern slopes of the Blue Mountains. The Jamaica Gleaner has reported that Old Tavern's coffee is grown, processed and packed at 4,000 feet. This guide could not confirm a more specific nearest village beyond the Hardwar Gap area, which sits near the St Andrew-Portland boundary.

History and ownership

Alex and Dorothy Twyman bought Old Tavern in 1968. Since Alex Twyman's death, the estate has been run by Dorothy Twyman and their son David. According to the travel site Moon Jamaica, the family had to work through significant difficulty to obtain a Coffee Industry Board license, which allows them to sell coffee directly under their own name and to use the "Blue Mountain Coffee" designation rather than selling cherry on to a central works.

What Old Tavern is known for

Old Tavern uses limited chemical fertilizer and pesticide, according to Moon Jamaica, along with traditional fermentation and sun-drying. Because of the cool, cloudy climate at that elevation, cherries are reported to stay on the trees for about ten months before they ripen fully. The estate produces three roast levels, medium, a medium-dark blend it calls Proprietors' Choice, and dark, and it separates out peaberry, the small, rounded bean that forms when only one seed develops inside the cherry.

How Old Tavern's coffee reaches buyers

Because the Twymans hold their own coffee dealer's license, Old Tavern sells more directly than many estates that route cherry through a central works. Moon Jamaica lists several channels: a handful of Kingston-area restaurants and cafes, at least one retail shop, direct sales from the farm, sales through a Kingston office, and online orders. This guide could not confirm current prices or shipping terms, so readers should check directly with the estate before ordering.

Does Old Tavern receive visitors?

Yes. Moon Jamaica reports that Old Tavern offers a free guided tour of the estate, with visitors encouraged, though not required, to buy coffee at the end. This is one of the more clearly documented visitor programs among the smaller Blue Mountain estates, though this guide could not confirm current opening days or how to book a visit.

Old Tavern and the single-estate question

Old Tavern is one of the estates most often named in discussions of what a genuine single-estate claim should mean for Blue Mountain coffee. The Jamaica Gleaner reported in 2019 that Jamaica had not yet created a formal license for single-estate labeling, even as some producers, including Old Tavern, sold coffee under their own estate name on the strength of a Coffee Industry Board license rather than a dedicated single-estate certificate. The broader licensing picture, including how a coffee dealer's license differs from a single-estate claim, is covered on the estates and coffee works directory.

For the pass and cloud-forest recreation area nearby, see Holywell and Hardwar Gap. For the licensing system that separates estates like Old Tavern from farms that sell only cherry, see certification, and for the parish Old Tavern sits in, see St Andrew: Blue Mountain coffee above Kingston.