"While we're on the subject of Jamaican coffee, what is up with condensed milk being the creamer of choice??"
Jamaica didn't always have the best of modern conveniences enjoyed by the "First World"-such as refrigeration. In the days before they radiated milk and put it in a box "sweet milk" or as its better known to us in North America "Sweetened Condensed Milk" was used instead of straight up cow's milk for things like creaming coffee or tea, or used in porridge to sweeten and cream that up. Its a staple ingredient for Jamaican cooks who soak Bammy in it and use it to make Soursop juice.
That - and its cheap in Jamaica. Not so much in the US where a can of Sweetened Condensed Milk costs around $4. Cans of sweet cream here used to be 25JMD! It costs more now but I can't remember how much I paid at the moment.
These days refrigeration is a bit better but using Sweet Cream has become habit or just plain ol' traditional. You can always tell a Jamaican run or owned restaurant when they serve you sweet cream with your coffee. My very first taste of Blue Mountain coffee I had it iced with - Sweet Cream. Look - you can always ask for "regular" milk and no one will be offended or surprised. Personally, I like my coffee sweet and enjoy alternating my coffee with milk & sweetener or sweet cream. There's something just so Jamaican about Blue Mountain coffee and sweet cream.
Its not just Jamaica though - the product is used worldwide. Ever have a Thai Iced Tea? Sweet Cream. Every have a Vietnamese Iced Coffee? Sweet cream.
As far as coffee, BM is not for everyone. The beans are usually roasted more lightly than what our North American palettes are used to, especially if you are used to swilling Starbucks or Petes on a regular basis. I get mine roasted "medium". It has a lower caffeine content too and a sweeter taste and far less acid than US coffees. I find it doesn't ever taste burned like I find Starbucks tastes all the time. I pay $12-$15 per pound for BM which is why I like to smuggle in a stash of my local organic coffee that I pay $8/lb for. I love it Blue Mountain Coffee but finances say I can't drink my fill of it in the months that I'm here.