How Much is Authentic Blue Mountain Coffee, Where to Buy Blue Mountain Coffee Beans

Coffee from Jamaica's Blue Mountain region has three grades: Blue Mountain Coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee Beans, and Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans.

Among these, Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are each further divided into two grades. Ranked from highest to lowest quality, they are: Blue Mountain No. 1, Blue Mountain No. 2, High Mountain No. 1, High Mountain No. 2, and Jamaica Prime Coffee. Typically, only coffee grown at altitudes between 457 and 1,524 meters is called Blue Mountain Coffee. Coffee grown at altitudes between 274 and 457 meters is usually referred to as Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans, with Blue Mountain Coffee priced several times higher than High Mountain Coffee. It is mainly distributed across five peaks: John Crow, St. John's Peak, Mossman's Peak, High Peak, and Blue Mountain Peak.

Characteristics

True Blue Mountain Coffee is made from the finest local green coffee beans, which is precisely what connoisseurs appreciate. Its flavor is rich, balanced, and fruity with acidity, satisfying various preferences. Additionally, high-quality fresh Blue Mountain Coffee has an exceptionally lasting flavor, much like the endless aftertaste described by wine enthusiasts. The best Blue Mountain coffee beans are NO. 1 peaberry, also known as pearl beans, which are carefully selected small, round beans from products grown at 2,100 meters altitude - truly the cream of the crop.

Flavor: Very intense aroma with persistent fruit notes.
Bean characteristics: Relatively full-bodied
Recommended roasting method: Medium roast

Blue Mountain Coffee has very low caffeine content, less than half of other coffees, aligning with modern health concepts. The same coffee varieties, whether grown in similar climates like Hawaii, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, or any other location, cannot produce the distinctive taste of Blue Mountain coffee beans. Pure Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee perfectly blends the unique acidic, bitter, sweet, and mellow notes of coffee, creating a strongly enticing and elegant aroma that other coffees cannot match.

Enthusiasts of Blue Mountain Coffee say: "It is a 'coffee beauty' that combines all the advantages of good coffee." Jim, general manager of the renowned American company specializing in coffee and tea, described Blue Mountain Coffee: "Its aroma is fragrant, smooth, and rich, making me feel it's as precious as a gem. It is precisely because Blue Mountain Coffee's flavor is moderate and perfect that it is generally consumed as black coffee." Its liquid appears golden in sunlight and drinks smoothly. Coffee books state that Blue Mountain is the only coffee in the world where both acidity and bitterness coexist harmoniously and can be enjoyed - you'll understand once you drink it.

Purchasing Blue Mountain Coffee Beans

In earlier years, there were no official import channels domestically, making the already rare Blue Mountain even scarcer in China. Drinking a cup of Blue Mountain coffee beans was considered extremely prestigious. As a result, many domestic cafes used coffee from other regions to substitute for Blue Mountain, and these coffee beans are generally called Blue Mountain-style. Consequently, claims like "Blue Mountain coffee beans cannot be bought in China" have persisted to this day. However, even during the era without official channels, Blue Mountain coffee beans consumed by the Chinese market still accounted for 15% of the world's total consumption, much to the astonishment of Jamaicans (who were likely shocked by the selling price of Blue Mountain coffee beans in the Chinese market). This led them to begin重视 the Chinese market. Now, buying Blue Mountain coffee beans in China is no longer difficult. Around 2011, Jamaica began directly selling Blue Mountain coffee beans to the Chinese market. For convenient online purchase of authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee's flagship store on Tmall is recommended.

To identify authentic Blue Mountain coffee beans, retail packaging can generally be recognized by the CIB certification logo and the Jamaica Blue Mountain® trademark. Coffee beans are typically imported as green beans and roasted domestically to sell freshly roasted coffee beans. For example, in the image description of Blue Mountain coffee beans from FrontStreet Coffee's flagship store, you can see the aforementioned Blue Mountain wooden barrels and the certificate of origin. Generally, each Blue Mountain coffee wooden barrel comes with a certificate of origin.

Purchasing Channels

To buy Blue Mountain coffee beans from FrontStreet Coffee, you can visit their Taobao or Tmall store. Blue Mountain No. 1 on Taobao is priced no lower than 168 RMB per 100g. Previously, I bought a vacuum-packed 250g bag of Blue Mountain coffee powder (lower grade) in Hong Kong for around 400 HKD.

Regarding Pricing

The prices and channels for Blue Mountain coffee beans in China are quite chaotic. Firstly, Blue Mountain coffee beans are inherently expensive and well-known. Additionally, there exist various Blue Mountain-style or Blue Mountain blend products that are easily confused with authentic Blue Mountain. As long as you pay attention to distinguishing whether you're buying Blue Mountain Coffee rather than Blue Mountain-style when purchasing, you generally won't make a mistake.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473