How Much Does Jamaican Coffee Cost per Pound in China? Blue Mountain Coffee Price Characteristics

FrontStreet Coffee recently overheard some fellow coffee enthusiasts discussing Blue Mountain coffee beans, including discussions among seasoned coffee aficionados teaching newcomers how to distinguish genuine Blue Mountain coffee beans and conversations about identifying Blue Mountain coffee prices.

From their conversations, FrontStreet Coffee feels that their understanding might still be stuck in the era 20 years ago. For instance, statements like "The Japanese have monopolized Blue Mountain coffee, and there's no genuine Blue Mountain in China" were even supported with theoretical evidence: Jamaica sells 688 tons of Blue Mountain coffee to Japan, 75 tons to the United States, and 59 tons to the United Kingdom. Now, other parts of the world can only obtain 10% of Blue Mountain coffee's production.

Another customer mentioned, "Blue Mountain coffee is extremely expensive. If it's No. 1 beans (first-grade), the selling price per cup won't be less than 300 RMB. However, some domestic coffee shops selling authentic Blue Mountain at around 200 RMB per cup, while indeed produced in Jamaica, can at most be No. 3 beans (third-grade). You can't drink No. 1 beans in China. Japanese Blue Mountain No. 1 beans sell for no less than 3500 RMB per pound (454 grams)." When hearing such statements, it indeed indicates someone is a seasoned coffee player, but unfortunately, they haven't kept up with the times.

What Constitutes Authentic Blue Mountain Coffee?

Blue Mountain coffee was once hailed as the Hermès of the coffee world. Authentic Blue Mountain allows people to taste rich, dense, and lasting chocolate and roasted hazelnut aromas, while possessing a perfect balance of acidity, sweetness, bitterness, fragrance, and body. FrontStreet Coffee believes that Blue Mountain coffee's high reputation is inseparable from the careful management and strict grading by Jamaican growers.

The Blue Mountain range is surrounded by Caribbean Sea waters, belonging to a unique island-style tropical rainforest microclimate. During rainy seasons, rainfall is concentrated with good drainage. Volcanic ash from active volcanoes has enriched the soil with nutrients, so coffee trees don't require excessive irrigation and fertilization. With abundant year-round sunshine, enveloping mist, and cool, comfortable high-altitude growing areas, it's highly suitable for various crops. Locals typically plant coffee trees alongside banana trees on the slopes of the Blue Mountains.

The CIB has designated an area of approximately 6,000 hectares in the Blue Mountain range, strictly stipulating that only Typica coffee produced in this region can be called "Blue Mountain Coffee." Coffee from other regions is called High Mountain Coffee. According to the area divided by the CIB, the forest area growing Blue Mountain coffee ranges from about 910 to 1700 meters in altitude, mainly distributed in St. Thomas, St. Mary, St. Andrew, and Portland. The total area accounts for one-third of the entire Blue Mountain growing region.

The Blue Mountain coffee variety belongs to Typica. When grown in higher altitude environments, the Typica flavor expression becomes more prominent. Additionally, the Typica variety has poor disease resistance and is very susceptible to diseases. Coupled with low fruit yield per plant, it requires more human care. Furthermore, the high-altitude areas of the Blue Mountains have uneven terrain, making management and harvesting very difficult. This places high demands on the skill level of harvesters, further affecting production. In recent years, less than 15% of coffee beans produced in Jamaica can be labeled as Blue Mountain coffee, approximately 900 tons. After harvesting, coffee cherries are immediately transported to processing plants for washing, depulping, and drying.

Is Blue Mountain Coffee Available in China?

FrontStreet Coffee will next discuss the current reality of Blue Mountain coffee. What that seasoned coffee player said earlier is correct - the Japanese do indeed occupy a large share of Blue Mountain quotas, and this continues to be true today. However, that data is from 1992. Now you can check the official Jamaican Coffee website, where China has become the fourth-largest purchaser of Blue Mountain coffee, with the top three being Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

China's formal establishment of Blue Mountain import channels was in 2011. Here, we need to mention a time node - 2008. 2008 coincided with the economic crisis, and Japan's priority purchasing rights expired. To be safe, the Jamaican government extended an olive branch to China. In 2010, the Hangzhou Coffee and Western Restaurant Industry Association was invited to visit Jamaica and signed a cooperation agreement for Blue Mountain coffee as the general agent for Eastern China. The owner of the Weibo account "Lou Boyin" was the association's president at that time.

Therefore, since 2011, mainland China has had independent import batches of Blue Mountain coffee beans. Blue Mountain coffee beans are indeed very expensive, but not to the extent everyone imagines. FrontStreet Coffee also purchases whole barrels of Blue Mountain coffee beans, partnering with Clifton Farm (Estate), which has continuously supplied China. The farm's owners, the Sharp family, are major coffee professionals in the Blue Mountain region. FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Blue Mountain coffee beans are priced at 158 yuan/100g, and the in-store tasting price is 60 yuan per cup. This price has caused confusion among many customers, who believe Blue Mountain prices couldn't possibly be this low.

How to Identify Genuine vs. Fake Blue Mountain Coffee?

Of course, because the price is lower than competitors, some friends suspect that FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee beans are not genuine. In response, FrontStreet Coffee can not only show everyone the original Blue Mountain barrels but also possesses the Blue Mountain coffee sales certificate issued by Clifton Farm.

If everyone still feels troubled by this price, then FrontStreet Coffee will calculate the costs for everyone. Search Taobao for Blue Mountain green beans, where 1kg costs 550 yuan. Calculating that 1kg of green beans can roast into 800g of roasted beans, the green bean cost at retail green bean prices is 68 yuan/100g. Of course, bulk purchasing and bypassing middlemen would lower costs further, making FrontStreet Coffee's price of 158 yuan/100g very reasonable.

Now is the era of Geisha, and the high prices of Blue Mountain coffee can only exist in the past. Times have changed. However, those who love Blue Mountain coffee remain devoted to this day because Blue Mountain coffee's flavor is balanced, its body is rich and mellow - qualities that other coffees cannot imitate.

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