When most people think about coffee, they picture a hot brew fresh from the pot — or maybe a cold frappe or iced latte. For Dalton Bryan, he decided to fuse coffee with an unlikely yet crunchy tropical snack: peanuts.
The owner of Genteel Brands Manufacturing Company released a savoury line of products he dubbed Flavours of Jamaica. Imagine experiencing the bold taste of coffee, Scotch bonnet, or lime-flavoured peanuts. But this mouthwatering journey doesn’t stop there. The featured flavours are also available in peanut butter.
Bryan’s gastronomic adventure started upon his return home to Jamaica. Though doing what he could to make ends meet, he was unsuccessful in securing a job. “Prior to now, I used to sell spice and jerk seasoning, as well as dry jerk powder,” he told Food.
Although he knew his spices, he wanted to try something other than powder and seasoning. He turned to prayer, and the answer came in an unexpected form.
“I tried the peanuts myself, in terms of putting the flavours together. But it didn’t come out the way I anticipated, so I had to get help. When we started testing, we found out that the flavours really paired well with each other. I tried to use flavours that are familiar to Jamaican people,” he revealed.
Interestingly enough, coffee wasn’t his first flavour innovation. Bryan stayed true to his roots, trying his hand at Scotch bonnet pepper-flavoured peanuts initially before branching out. “Everybody loves Scotch bonnet pepper. So I said, ‘Okay. Scotch bonnet pepper and peanuts’. I tried it and it gives a nice kick to the palate. That’s a bestseller. Then I created the coffee option. Those were the two flavours that I started out with,” he said. The lime flavour was added later and has since become a popular pairing with beer.
Out of the four flavours, the coffee varieties have proven to be the most surprising among the customers because of the distinct profiles. “Each person will have their preference when it comes to the flavour. And when we tested the coffee, we didn’t put any sweetener or anything [in] it. I thought it was terrible. But real coffee lovers came to me and said they loved it. The black coffee is stronger than the coffee flavour, which is a milder version,” he pointed out. The coffee flavour’s biggest perk? It gives you that much-needed energy boost.
Since launching his business three years ago, the company has experienced its fair share of ups and downs. But this entrepreneur continues to weather the storms of entrepreneurship and persevere.
“I have had to stop and revamp the product. I started out in [a] bottle. But our culture is that everybody loves having peanuts in a bag. So I got the peanuts in the sachet. And then after putting the peanuts in the sachet, I thought, why not do peanut butter? So now, I have the peanuts in the pouch or the sachet. And then I have the flavours in peanut butter form,” Bryan shared.
With the products already available at locations such as the Things Jamaican Store, airports, Devon House and Young’s Pharmacy in May Pen, Bryan hopes to expand into other stores and is working towards making his brand a household name.
Source: Gleaner – https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/food/20250522/dalton-bryan-brewing-something-special-coffee-flavoured-peanuts
