Do You Know About Blue Mountain Coffee?

Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee originates from Jamaica, named after the Blue Mountains surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. With a perfect balance of acidity, sweetness, and bitterness, it offers excellent flavor and aroma, making it ideal for single-origin coffee and suitable for medium roasting.

Origins

The Blue Mountain Range is located in the eastern part of Jamaica. When the weather is clear, the sun's direct reflection on the azure sea creates a brilliant blue glow on the mountain peaks, hence its name. The highest peak of Blue Mountain reaches 2,256 meters, making it the highest peak in the Caribbean region and a famous tourist destination. This area lies within the coffee belt, featuring fertile volcanic soil, fresh air free from pollution, humid climate, and year-round fog and rain (average precipitation of 1,980mm, temperature around 27°C). Such climate conditions have created the world-renowned Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, as well as the world's most expensive coffee.

This coffee possesses all the characteristics of fine coffee. Not only is it rich and mellow in flavor, but the perfect balance of sweetness, acidity, and bitterness means it has no bitter taste at all, only moderate and perfect acidity. It's typically consumed as single-origin coffee, but due to extremely limited production and incredibly high prices, the market generally uses coffee with similar flavor profiles as substitutes.

The Secret Behind Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee's Pure Flavor

Their coffee trees all grow on rugged mountain slopes, making the harvesting process extremely difficult. Only skilled local female workers can handle this challenging task. Selecting perfectly ripe coffee beans during harvest is crucial, as under-ripe or over-ripe beans will affect the coffee quality. After harvesting, the coffee beans must be hulled the same day, then fermented for 12-18 hours. Subsequently, the beans undergo washing and sorting. The next step is drying, which must be conducted on concrete floors or thick blankets until the bean moisture content drops to 12-14%. They are then stored in dedicated warehouses. When needed, they are taken out for roasting and ground into powder. These procedures must be strictly controlled; otherwise, the coffee quality will be affected.

History

In 1717, French King Louis XV ordered coffee cultivation in Jamaica. In the mid-1720s, Jamaica's Governor Sir Nicholas Lawes imported Arabica seeds from Martinique and began promoting cultivation in the St. Andrew region. To this day, St. Andrew remains one of Jamaica's three major Blue Mountain coffee-producing regions, with the other two being Portland and St. Thomas. Within eight years, Jamaica exported over 375 tons of pure coffee. In 1932, coffee production reached its peak, with more than 15,000 tons harvested.

In 1950, the Jamaican government established the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board, which sets quality standards for Jamaican coffee and oversees their implementation to ensure quality. The board grants special official seals to both raw and roasted Jamaican coffee exports, making it the world's highest-level national coffee authority. Currently, six certifications can represent Blue Mountain Coffee origin: M.B.C.E (Mavis Bank Central Factory), M.H.C.C.T. (Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative), P.X.X.S.H. (Portland Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative), Coffee Industry Association (Wallenford), Coffee Industry Association (St. John's Peak), and J.A.S (Blue Mountain).

By 1969, conditions had improved as Japanese loans were used to enhance production quality, ensuring market stability. Today, this coffee has reached a status of passionate admiration.

By 1981, Jamaica had developed approximately 1,500 hectares of land for coffee cultivation, followed by investment in an additional 6,000 hectares of coffee-growing land. In fact, today's Blue Mountain region is a small area with only 6,000 hectares of cultivation, making it impossible for all coffee labeled "Blue Mountain" to be grown there. An additional 12,000 hectares are used to grow two other types of coffee: High Mountain Supreme and Jamaica Prime Coffee.

Geography

Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee is among the world's finest coffees. Jamaica's weather, geological structure, and topography together provide ideal growing conditions. The mountain range extending through Jamaica reaches the eastern part of the island, with Blue Mountain peaks exceeding 2,100 meters. The cool weather, frequent fog, and regular precipitation nourish this fertile soil with rain. Coffee trees are grown using mixed cultivation methods, planted on terraces alongside banana and avocado trees. Some small estates also cultivate coffee. However, even the largest estate owners in this region are considered small-scale by international standards, with many being small landowners whose families have worked the land for two centuries. Jamaica's coffee industry faces challenges including hurricane impacts, increasing labor costs, and difficulties in mechanizing terrace operations. Many small estates and farms struggle with rational cultivation practices.

Due to Japan's continued investment in Jamaica's coffee industry, most Blue Mountain Coffee is now controlled by Japanese interests, 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. Today, 90% of Blue Mountain Coffee is purchased by Japan. Since the rest of the world can only obtain 10% of Blue Mountain production, Blue Mountain Coffee remains in constant shortage regardless of price.

Classification

Coffee from Jamaica's Blue Mountain region has three grades: Blue Mountain Coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee Beans, and Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans. Both Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are further divided into two grades each. Ranked by quality from highest to lowest: Blue Mountain No. 1, Blue Mountain No. 2, High Mountain No. 1, High Mountain No. 2, and Jamaica Prime Coffee. Typically, only coffee grown between 457 and 1,524 meters altitude can be called Blue Mountain Coffee. Coffee grown between 274 and 457 meters altitude is usually called Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans. Blue Mountain Coffee is several times more expensive than High Mountain Coffee. It's mainly distributed across five peaks: John Crow, St. John's Peak, Mossman's Peak, High Peak, and Blue Mountain Peak.

Characteristics

Authentic Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee is made from the finest local raw coffee beans, which is where the connoisseur's pleasure lies. Its flavor is rich, balanced, and fruity with good acidity, satisfying various preferences. Additionally, premium fresh Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee has exceptionally lasting flavor, much like the endless aftertaste described by wine enthusiasts. The finest Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee beans are No. 1 peaberry, also known as pearl beans - small, round beans carefully selected from products grown at 2,100 meters altitude, truly the cream of the crop.

Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee Flavor: Very rich aroma with lasting fruit notes.

Bean Size: Relatively full

Recommended Roasting Method: Medium roast

Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee has very low caffeine content, less than half of other coffees, meeting modern health concepts. The same coffee variety, when planted in similar climates like Hawaii, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, or anywhere else, cannot produce the flavor of Blue Mountain Coffee beans. Pure Jamaican Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee perfectly blends the unique acidity, bitterness, sweetness, and richness of coffee, creating a strongly appealing elegant aroma that other coffees cannot match.

Blue Mountain Coffee enthusiasts describe it as: "It's a 'coffee beauty' that combines all the advantages of fine coffee." Jim, general manager of the renowned American coffee and tea company Peet's, described Blue Mountain Coffee: "Its aroma is fragrant, smooth, and rich, giving me the feeling of something as precious as a gemstone. Because Blue Mountain Coffee's flavor is moderate and perfect, it's generally consumed as black coffee." Its liquid appears golden in sunlight and drinks very smoothly. Coffee books say that Blue Mountain is the only coffee in the world that balances both acidity and bitterness while being enjoyable to drink - you'll understand once you taste it.

Harvesting and Sales

Jamaican Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee's harvesting period is from June to November each year. Generally, hand-picking methods are used. After harvesting, the beans undergo washing, pulping, fermentation, dehydration, drying, hulling, and roasting processes to become finished Blue Mountain coffee beans. During raw bean processing, each step has dedicated personnel responsible for quality supervision. For the precious Blue Mountain Coffee, the Jamaican government uses unique packaging and transportation methods. Unlike other coffees packaged in 60kg burlap bags, Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee is packaged in wooden barrels holding 70kg each. Jamaica is also the last country still using traditional wooden barrels for coffee packaging and transportation. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee beans must receive quality certification from the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board, the only organization authorized to issue such certificates. Additionally, each export batch has dedicated quality supervision experts responsible for sampling, roasting, grinding, and brewing the coffee to determine whether it meets standards.

Due to its expensive price, Blue Mountain Coffee has a relatively fixed consumer base, with sales mainly concentrated in Japan, followed by some European and American countries. The coffee beans are full and slightly larger than average beans. Its flavor is very subtle, with balanced and strong acidity, aroma, richness, and sweetness, slightly bitter with harmonious taste and excellent flavor, suitable for single-origin coffee. It uses medium roasting to maximally preserve the coffee's original flavor while enhancing its aftertaste.

As China's coffee consumption market improves, many cafes have begun serving "Blue Mountain Coffee" at prices often only a fraction or one-tenth of authentic Blue Mountain Coffee. In 2005, guided by Taiwanese coffee merchants, Chinese media began paying attention to and reporting on the authenticity of Blue Mountain Coffee. To date, authentic Blue Mountain Coffee remains out of reach for most Chinese consumers due to its price and limited supply to the mainland market. Blue Mountain Coffee's ability to maintain its supreme status today is inseparable from local business policies. In 1932, Jamaica implemented policies encouraging coffee production to reduce the island's dependence on sugar exports. Unlike most coffee-producing countries that increased output by planting large quantities of high-yield but lower-quality coffee, Jamaica prioritized quality over quantity, willing to sacrifice production volume to ensure quality. Therefore, Jamaica is one of the world's smaller coffee-producing countries. Brazil, the world's largest coffee exporter, produces 30 million bags annually, while Blue Mountain Coffee produces only about 40,000 bags per year. Currently, "Blue Mountain-style" coffees on the market rarely contain any genuine Blue Mountain Coffee beans. There's a "Jamaican Blue Mountain Blend" coffee made from 30% Blue Mountain Coffee and 70% of Jamaica's finest High Mountain Coffee. Both types attempt to imitate Blue Mountain Coffee but cannot achieve perfect results.

Blue Mountain Coffee's "cold reception" in America is related to American habits. Since the 1970s, flavored coffee has gradually become popular. It involves adding spices to coffee beans or adding coffee creamer to brewed coffee, with hundreds of flavored coffee varieties available. Most flavored coffees use relatively inexpensive coffee beans. When Blue Mountain Coffee costs about $80 per pound, Maxwell Coffee costs only $3 per pound.

Special Characteristics

Authentic Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee is among the world's most ideally grown coffees. Jamaica's weather, geological structure, and topography together provide uniquely ideal conditions. Designated Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee can only be grown in the Blue Mountain region in the eastern part of Jamaica north of Kingston. Coffee grows on mountains up to 1,800 meters (about 6,000 feet) - quite high altitude for Coffea arabica. The mountains are very uneven, making harvesting extremely difficult (coffee harvesters are almost entirely women). The trees are mainly of the "Geisha High Bred" variety. Seeds from these trees have been exported to other countries like Hawaii, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, and elsewhere, but nowhere can they replicate the flavor of Blue Mountain Coffee beans.

In these rugged, high-altitude mountains, careful cultivation and harvesting, along with all Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee being processed, tasted, and distributed by the Jamaica Industry Association, result in very clean coffee flavor in the cup, making it one of the world's sweetest coffees. This flavor has been described by Jim Reynolds at Peet's Coffee and Tea: "The best example of Jamaica's Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee is its aromatic, smooth richness, giving me the feeling of gemstone quality. It's as precious as a gemstone. It's complex but very gentle, sweet, with very strong body. You must taste it to know what I'm talking about." Unique growing conditions and meticulous attention throughout all production processes have made Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee very famous.

Jamaica is one of the world's smaller coffee producers, harvesting approximately 40,000 bags of 60kg each annually (Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is actually shipped in 70kg wooden barrels - they're the last country still using this traditional packaging method, but their production is measured in 60kg bags as that's the international standard for coffee production measurement). Compare this to Brazil, the world's largest coffee exporter, which produces 30,000,000 bags of 60kg each annually.

Japanese investors have made significant investments in Jamaica's Blue Mountain Coffee cultivation areas and secure 90% of annual production. Other countries worldwide must bid for the remaining 10%, about 3,500 barrels. Authentic Blue Mountain Coffee's unique flavor makes it the world's most expensive coffee. Its demand is exceptionally high, creating constant market shortage.

Exceptionally favorable growing conditions have nurtured Blue Mountain Coffee's unique flavor, placing it among the world's "premium coffees." All 100% pure Blue Mountain Coffee worldwide refers to coffee produced within specific ranges of Jamaica's eastern Blue Mountain region. Every step during cultivation and processing must meet the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board's strict standards to be certified as "Pure Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee."

The abundant rainfall in the Blue Mountain region, year-round fog and low temperatures averaging about 20°C, and fertile new volcanic soil create excellent growing conditions for Blue Mountain Coffee. The high-altitude location between 2,500 and 5,000 feet creates a unique slightly acidic flavor that feels neither stimulating nor uncomfortable. Seedlings are nurtured in nurseries for about 2 years, organic fertilizers are used during growth, and harvesting is done manually, picking one bean at a time. All processing, roasting, and packaging must comply with the high standards set by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board.

The rare but excellent Typica variety is the best among Arabica. Most coffee-producing countries prefer to grow other high-yield but lower-quality varieties, while Jamaica prioritizes quality, willing to sacrifice Blue Mountain Coffee production volume to ensure the best quality.

100% pure Jamaican Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee possesses a strongly appealing elegant aroma that other coffees cannot match. When it undergoes grinding, brewing, and tasting, its flavor reaches its极致, and the surrounding coffee aroma makes it hard not to be intoxicated! Its caffeine content is very low, approximately less than half of other coffee varieties, meeting modern health requirements.

The general production situation of Blue Mountain Coffee requires noting that 99.9% of Blue Mountain Coffee available in China today is only grown near the Blue Mountain range. Only coffee produced in the 6,000 hectares above 1,600 meters altitude can be called Blue Mountain, and production has never exceeded 900 tons. According to the principle of 10% supply to the world outside Japan, would this coffee, which only allows global consumption of 90 tons annually, be available in any cafe for just a few dozen yuan?

The national coffee chain Shangdao Coffee became a public focus after being exposed by CCTV for using fake Blue Mountain Coffee to pass as Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. After the scandal was exposed, journalists' undercover investigation of Shangdao Coffee's Xi'an branch found continued consumer fraud. CCTV investigations showed that genuine Blue Mountain Coffee exported to mainland China is very limited, and authentic Blue Mountain Coffee beans cost about 2,000 yuan per pound (about 450 grams), with a single cup costing over 60 yuan. Therefore, coffee sold for 20-30 yuan per cup in cafes like Shangdao cannot possibly be genuine Blue Mountain Coffee.

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