RSW Estates and Sherwood Coffee Works

RSW Estates is a partnership of three family coffee farms, Resource, Sherwood Forest and Whitfield Hall, on the far side of the Yallahs River from Mavis Bank, high in the Blue Mountains. All three have grown coffee since the late 1700s, and their cherry is processed together at Sherwood Coffee Works, a plant that traces its own history back to the same period.

Where RSW Estates are

The three farms sit across the Yallahs River from Mavis Bank, in the St Thomas side of the Blue Mountains, near Hagley Gap. Sources disagree on the elevation of Sherwood Forest's high ground, known as the Big Level: the importer Martinez Fine Coffees gives 4,400 feet, while Sherwood's own website gives 5,770 feet. Whitfield Hall, the highest and best known of the three, sits on the trail hikers use to reach Blue Mountain Peak, at 7,402 feet the highest point in Jamaica.

History

Coffee cultivation at the site goes back to the late 1700s, and CoffeeTalk magazine dates Crown land patents for "Sherwood Forest and Eccleston Plantations" to 1797. Whitfield Hall, according to the importer Martinez Fine Coffees, was founded in 1776 on an original 300 acres, of which about 40 remain in coffee today. CoffeeTalk reports that the Sherwood works and farm were abandoned before the Second World War, then bought in 1961 by five partners who began renovating the property; over time, ownership consolidated into what is now run as a single-family enterprise, with Resource farm separately owned by the Langford family, run by Cecil Langford for more than 40 years and now by his son Gordon.

What RSW Estates and Sherwood Coffee Works are known for

Sherwood Coffee Works processes coffee only for the three RSW partner farms, and CoffeeTalk describes the surviving stone works building, which once turned an 18-foot iron waterwheel to drive its machinery. Today, CoffeeTalk reports, cherries are processed the same day they are picked, fermented for about 24 hours, fan-dried and then sun-dried on patios for five to ten days, and polished on a peeler that is kept below 90°F to protect flavor before careful hand-sorting removes defective beans. CoffeeTalk put the farm's total size at 55 acres, producing around 60,000 pounds of coffee a year, with the operators saying they have no plans to expand.

How the coffee reaches buyers

Green beans are shipped to Jamaica's Coffee Industry Board for certification, and Martinez Fine Coffees reports that most of the crop has historically gone to buyers in Europe, making it rare in the United States. Sherwood's own website says it now sells roasted coffee in bulk, packaged, private-label and retail formats under an "Oubu Jamaica Blue Mountain" brand, shipped worldwide in the traditional wooden barrels; see why Blue Mountain coffee is shipped in wooden barrels. The RSW brand name itself is no longer sold, according to Sherwood's own site, even though the three farms still grow coffee.

Do RSW Estates receive visitors?

Whitfield Hall has lodged hikers in its old great house for more than 100 years, according to Martinez Fine Coffees, and remains a well-known stopping point for people climbing Blue Mountain Peak. Separately, Sherwood's own website describes the farm as having opened as an "eco/coffee tour destination." This guide could not confirm current pricing, availability or booking details for either the guesthouse or the tours, so readers should check directly before planning a visit.

For the parish these farms sit in, see St Thomas: Blue Mountain coffee in the east, and for other named producers, see the estates and coffee works directory.