Maybe your days of rocking knatty dreads are over, but you can give a little shout-out to your quasi-Rastafari roots by imbibing in Rohan Marley's new papa-inspired coffee beans. According to this interview in the Jamaica Observer, "My father came from farmland of Nine Miles," Rohan recalls, "There, he learned a deep respect for nature and humanity - respect that helped guide his life and ours. He said he would return to the farm one day. That was his dream." Incorporating the Rastafari ideal of ITAL (pure, vital foods), Rohan and his business partner Shane Whittle work to partner with farms around the globe that are engaging in ecologically and socially sustainable cultivation practices -- organic, shade-grown, ethically-treated workers and environmental balance are some of the attributes they look for when sourcing their beans. Their own beans, cultivated in the world-renowned coffee growing region of Jamaica's Blue Mountains, are similarly produced and they firmly believe that coffee grown in this manner just plain tastes better. From Rohan's own experience, he draws on early memories of his grandmother hand-hulling and roasting wild coffee cherries for her daily cup of coffee and he seeks to embody this rich, handcrafted and smooth flavor in all of his coffees. Marley Coffee has five different blends on offer, each name inspired by one of Bob Marley's songs:
- Simmer Down - Swiss water decaf
- Lively Up! - 5 bean espresso blend
- One Love - Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
- Mystic Morning - Wake up coffee
- Jammin Java - Bold full city roast