What are the characteristics of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee? No.1, No.2, No.3 Grade Classification and Identification

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Introduction to Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

When it comes to Jamaica, people's eyes immediately light up because it produces the world's finest "Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee." FrontStreet Coffee firmly believes that Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is the ultimate coffee—its acidity, sweetness, richness, and bitterness are perfectly balanced, with a fragrant aroma and an exceptionally smooth taste.

The earliest "Jamaica Blue Mountain" referred to coffee produced by the Wallenford Estate and Silver Hill Estate, with the former being of the highest quality. Today's Jamaica Blue Mountain refers to coffee beans grown in the Blue Mountain region east of Jamaica's capital Kingston (at elevations exceeding 1000 meters). Currently, Mavis Bank is the largest estate, with its wooden barrels marked M.B.C.F. Jamaica Blue Mountain's quality control is extremely strict, with certification conducted by the government's Coffee Industry Board.

Coffee beans generally grown at lower elevations and in other regions can only be called Jamaica High Mountain beans or Jamaica Prime Coffee beans. Compared to Jamaica Blue Mountain, their flavor profiles are vastly different. However, the cultivation area for these coffees is twice that of the true Blue Mountain region, accounting for 75% of the country's production. Therefore, even if you buy coffee beans locally in Jamaica, you're not necessarily getting genuine Blue Mountain coffee.

Jamaica's Coffee Growing Regions

Today's St. Andrew growing region remains one of the three major Blue Mountain coffee regions, with the other two being the Portland and St. Thomas regions.

Today's Blue Mountain region is a small area with only 6,000 hectares of planting area, making it impossible for all coffee labeled "Blue Mountain" to be grown there. An additional 12,000 hectares are used for growing two other types of coffee (non-Blue Mountain): High Mountain Supreme and Prime Washed Jamaican.

Ideal Growing Conditions

True Blue Mountain coffee is among the world's most superiorly cultivated coffees. Jamaica's weather, geological structure, and topography collectively provide an exceptionally ideal setting. The mountain range running through Jamaica extends to the eastern part of the island, with the Blue Mountains reaching heights of over 2,100 meters. The cool, foggy, and frequently rainy weather creates perfectly balanced moisture in this fertile land. Here, people use mixed cultivation methods to grow coffee trees, planting them on terraces alongside banana and avocado trees.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Classification

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is divided into various grades. Both Blue Mountain coffee and High Mountain coffee are each subdivided into four grades. Ranked by quality from highest to lowest: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB. NO.1 is what we call Blue Mountain No.1 coffee beans, NO.2 is the next grade down, and PB refers to peaberries. According to CIB standards, only coffee grown at elevations above 910 meters can be called Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee.

Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee Beans are coffee produced in the Blue Mountain region below 666 meters elevation. This is also the second-highest quality coffee after Blue Mountain, known in the industry as Blue Mountain's sibling variety. Due to the extremely limited production of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, if you want to taste Jamaican-style coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Coffee is your best choice.

Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans are coffee grown outside the Blue Mountain region. Previously, Chinese coffee professionals had a common misconception that only coffee grown above 1800 meters in the Blue Mountain area could be called Blue Mountain coffee. In fact, above 1800 meters in the Blue Mountains, there is only one estate—Amber. It is owned by someone of Chinese descent, with the owner's surname being Lyn (Lin), whose ancestors came from Guangdong, China. This estate has only 30 hectares of land and very limited production. Blue Mountain coffee is mainly distributed across five mountainous areas: John Crow, St. John's Peak, Mossman's Peak, High Peak, and Blue Mountain Peak.

Blue Mountain coffee refers to coffee brewed from beans grown in Jamaica's Blue Mountains. It is further divided by grade into Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee and Jamaica High Mountain Coffee.

The Excellence of Blue Mountain Coffee

Blue Mountain coffee is the world's most superior coffee with limited production, making it precious due to its rarity. The Blue Mountains are located in the eastern part of Jamaica. Because the mountains are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, on clear days when sunlight directly hits the azure sea surface, the peaks reflect the brilliant blue light of the seawater, hence the name. Blue Mountain's highest peak reaches 2,256 meters, making it the highest peak in the Caribbean region and a famous tourist destination.

This area is situated in the coffee belt, with fertile volcanic soil, fresh air free from pollution, and a humid climate with year-round fog and rain (average precipitation of 1,980mm and temperature around 27°C). Such climate conditions have created the world-renowned Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, as well as the world's second most expensive coffee. This coffee possesses all the characteristics of fine coffee—not only is it rich and aromatic, but due to the perfect balance of coffee's sweetness, acidity, and bitterness, it has no bitter taste at all, only moderate and perfect acidity. It is typically consumed as single-origin coffee, but due to its extremely limited production and exorbitant price, it is generally blended with similar-tasting coffees in the market.

Cultivation and Processing

Their coffee trees all grow on rugged mountain slopes, making the harvesting process extremely difficult. Only skilled local female workers can胜任 this task. It is crucial to select coffee beans that are perfectly ripe during harvesting—under-ripe or over-ripe beans will affect the coffee quality. After harvesting, coffee beans must be hulled the same day, then fermented for 12-18 hours. Following this, the coffee beans are washed and sorted. The next step is drying, which must be done on concrete floors or thick blankets until the coffee beans' moisture content drops to 12%-14%. They are then stored in special warehouses. When needed, they are taken out for roasting and then ground into powder. These procedures must be strictly controlled; otherwise, the coffee quality will be affected.

Market and Distribution

Since Japan has consistently invested in Jamaica's coffee industry, most Blue Mountain coffee is controlled by the Japanese, who also have priority purchasing rights. In 1992, Jamaica sold 688 tons of Blue Mountain coffee to Japan, 75 tons to the United States, and 59 tons to the United Kingdom. 90% of Blue Mountain coffee is purchased by the Japanese. Since the rest of the world can only obtain 10% of Blue Mountain production, Blue Mountain coffee is always in short supply regardless of price.

Jamaica Coffee Market

Blue Mountain coffee is a coffee that reputable coffee retailers must stock regardless of circumstances. A major British retailer said: regardless of price, he will continue to sell Blue Mountain coffee year-round because he has many customers who only recognize "Blue Mountain."

Currently, 90% of harvested Blue Mountain coffee is purchased by the Japanese. Since the rest of the world can only obtain 10% of Blue Mountain coffee production, Blue Mountain coffee is always in short supply regardless of price. In the UK, for many years, Langford Brothers was the only supplier. Later, the Edmonds Group also obtained supply from Jamaica's Salda Foods.

The difference between Blue Mountain coffee and other coffees in transportation is that it is shipped in 70kg wooden barrels, which are replicas of the Bonifieur barrels produced on Guadeloupe Island in the last century. These barrels were originally used to transport flour from England to Jamaica and usually carry trademark names and manufacturer information. The Coffee Industry Board issues certificates for all genuine Jamaican coffee and stamps them with approval before export.

The Jamaican government previously insisted that all Blue Mountain coffee be roasted in Jamaica to ensure consistent quality. In reality, roasting is a delicate art that requires experience, training, and expensive equipment. From a consumer's perspective, coffee beans should be obtained and consumed immediately after roasting. Roasting coffee in Jamaica cannot meet this requirement. Now, Jamaica's raw coffee beans can be exported. Jamaica has three coffee varieties:

Few "Blue Mountain style" coffees on the market contain even a single genuine Blue Mountain coffee bean. There is a "Jamaica Blend Blue Mountain" coffee made from 30% Blue Mountain coffee and 70% of the finest Jamaica High Mountain coffee. Both of these coffees attempt to imitate Blue Mountain coffee but cannot achieve perfection.

Identifying Genuine vs. Fake Blue Mountain Coffee Beans

1. Appearance

Raw Blue Mountain coffee beans are blue-green in color, very uniform in appearance, medium to small in size, with slightly upturned ends. After roasting, they expand significantly in volume and become very full.

2. Grinding

Genuine Blue Mountain coffee beans grow at high altitudes, giving them a relatively loose cellular structure. When ground by hand, they feel very crisp, smooth, and continuous, without any sense of resistance.

3. Aroma

The aroma is very intense and dense. So-called blended Blue Mountain coffees do not have this characteristic aroma.

4. Taste

The characteristic of genuine Blue Mountain coffee beans is a balanced, rich taste where no single flavor overpowers or is lacking. This is also something no other coffee bean can achieve, making it the most crucial identification point. Blue Mountain peaberries have a more reserved aroma but relatively stronger taste.

5. Sensation

As the world's finest coffee, Blue Mountain's classic balanced characteristics inevitably create some subconscious, indescribable sense of satisfaction when tasting.

In addition, authenticity can also be verified through certificates.

Currently, the Jamaica Coffee Board can issue certificates for all exported Blue Mountain coffee.

Certificate Types

1) Quality Certificate issued by the Jamaica Coffee Board

2) Authorized Sales Certificate issued by Blue Mountain Coffee manufacturers

(Blue Mountain coffee is distributed by 4 Jamaican government-licensed processing producers and exported by 16 licensed exporters)

FrontStreet Coffee's certificate is precisely the certification certificate issued by Clifton Farm.

3) Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Certificate of Origin

Quality certificates indicate time and quantity. The Jamaica Coffee Board randomly selects a package from submitted Blue Mountain coffee for inspection. If it meets Blue Mountain coffee conditions, a certificate is issued.

How to Brew Blue Mountain Coffee

KONO dripper; Parameters: 15g coffee, water temperature 88°C, grind size matching 75% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15, extraction time around 1:45

30g water for bloom, blooming time 30s; First pour to 120g then stop; vertical water flow, small slow circular motion; Second pour to 225g, water flow and circular speed slightly faster to reduce fine particles clogging the dripper.

Blue Mountain Flavor Profile

The taste is very clean, complex, and very mild, with chocolate sweetness and very strong body. The flavor is rich and aromatic, with perfect balance of coffee's sweetness, acidity, and bitterness—completely without bitterness, only moderate and perfect acidity, with a persistent fruity finish.

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