This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
Since last year, the island of Martinique has been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Reserves, both for its breathtaking landscapes and for its unique know-how in the world.
Domaine d’Émeraude, Le Morne Rouge, at the foot of Mount Pelee and the famous volcanic peaks of Carbet. Its Jardin des Origines, one of the jewels of the regional natural park of Martinique, in which the Estate is set, exhibits traditional medicinal plants from the Caribbean. It is here that the master plans of the famous Arabica Typica coffee are kept, whose origin dates back to the 18th century.and century. Plans brought back to Martinique by the Chevalier de Clieu from the gardens of King Louis XIV.
Four years after the search for its traces on the Caribbean island, this coffee, which is said to be the best in the world, reappears on the hillside, carried by the devotion of some twenty inspired farmers, who prefer permaculture to the use of chemical fertilizers. Coffee cherries ripen between guava, papaya and mango trees in a breathtaking environment. A modest, symbolic production, some would say, with 1,200 kg of Arabica typica produced in 2021 and the ambition to remain a niche product. Talk to Luigi Germany, master barista and founder of La Réminiscence, the temple to tasting this smooth, fruity drink devoid of bitterness. A few velvety drops are enough to be convinced: it is the whole Martinican soul that leaves powerful, generous aromas on the palate.
Ecologically oriented practices
The news didn’t make the headlines (COVID took care of that!): the whole island made it onto UNESCO’s enviable list of World Biosphere Reserves last year. In 2018, a vast consultation with the population began to identify the riches of the island around four themes: nature, culture, know-how and scientific research-education.
As of this year, a management committee must carry out projects with the assistance of a scientific council and the College of Protected Area Managers. Several working commissions are already at work to work on the preservation of the environment and the reappropriation of cultural identity. “Certain sectors, such as distilleries, represent cross-cutting wealth, at the convergence between nature, culture and know-how, from the production of sugar cane to the manufacture of rum”, explains Karine Roy-Camille, Vice-President of the Martinique Biosphere association.
Maintaining ancestral practices contributes to making it a model of sustainable and circular economy. Starting with the sugar cane plantations, where pesticides and fungicides are prescribed. To control the spread of the borer, this insect which lays its eggs directly on the cane, planters introduce its favorite predator: the Polybia paulista (wasp native to Brazil).
What’s more, sugar cane production has a direct effect on air quality: “Over a year, one hectare of sugar cane absorbs 60 tonnes of CO2 and releases 42 tons of oxygen,” explains Justin Séraline, president of the Collective Society of Agricultural Interest, which represents local planters and producers. Multiply by 4000 the number of hectares exploited on the island, and you arrive at a striking figure. As a bonus, bagasse, the residue of cane, runs 90% of Martinican distilleries and sugar factories. The water is treated and reused there. “The impact of this industry on greenhouse gases is minimal, with 0.5% of the emissions observed on the island,” says Justin Séraline. Still, cane production is currently undergoing the considerable effects of climate change.
World capital of rum?
Certainly, says Claude Feliot, secretary general of CODERUM, which represents the 2200 direct and indirect jobs of the nine distilleries on the island. Like those of Trois-Rivières, where Daniel Baudin received the title of best cellar master in the world in 2019, awarded by the International Wine & Spirit Competition. He is one of those who worked to obtain, in 1996, the European AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) label for Martinican rum. Flowery notes, stewed, roasted cocoa: Trois-Rivières produces around twenty aged agricultural rums which spend from 36 months to 20 years in oak barrels, “including rums with a great aroma, whose powerful bouquet characterizes Martinican production”, explains Daniel Baudin.
Exceptional products that go perfectly with the tasting menus of restaurants like Carteblanche, in Trois-Îlets, located in a listed heritage distillery. Its chef, Harold Jeanville, reinvents traditional foods, such as breadfruit or ti nain (green banana), with astonishing dexterity. Or, even, at L’Atelier ND, in Fort-de-France, where the young chef Nathanaël Ducteil imagines contemporary gastronomy by drawing on the Creole heritage – coffee and rum in particular – to give back to the history of Martinique all the brilliance that comes back to him.