What Grade is Geisha Coffee? Understanding Panama Geisha Coffee Brands and Essential Estates

For more premium coffee knowledge, please follow the WeChat official account: FrontStreet Coffee

Whether you're a coffee enthusiast or not, you've likely heard of Jamaica's Blue Mountain coffee. When you open Taobao, you'll find plenty of "Blue Mountain flavor" and "Blue Mountain blend" options. What makes Blue Mountain so special that it leaves such a lasting impression? Let's explore some facts about Blue Mountain!

History of Jamaican Coffee

The history of Jamaican coffee can be traced back to the 18th century. 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 area. Coffee trees were introduced to Jamaica and planted in the Blue Mountain range, which was further divided into high-altitude Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, High Mountain coffee, and Jamaican coffee. Different grades determine different prices.

Blue Mountain Geography

The Blue Mountain range is located in eastern Jamaica. The mountain gets its name because on clear days, when the sun shines directly on the azure Caribbean Sea, the peaks reflect the brilliant blue light of the seawater. The highest peak of Blue Mountain reaches 2,256 meters, making it the highest peak in the Caribbean region and a famous tourist destination. Located in the coffee belt, it has fertile volcanic soil, fresh air without 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 Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, as well as the world's most expensive coffee.

True Blue Mountain coffee is one of the coffees grown under the most superior conditions in the world. Jamaica's weather, geological structure, and topography together provide an ideal and naturally gifted place. Designated Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee can only be grown in the Blue Mountain area, north of Kingston in eastern Jamaica. The mountain ridge that traverses Jamaica extends to the eastern part of the island, with the Blue Mountain range reaching over 2,100 meters. The cool, foggy weather with frequent rainfall keeps this fertile land well-watered. Here, people use mixed cultivation methods to grow coffee trees, planting them alongside banana and avocado trees on terraced slopes.

Harvesting Challenges

Moreover, the mountains are extremely rugged, making the harvesting process very difficult (coffee harvesters are almost entirely women). Their coffee trees all grow on steep mountain slopes, making the picking process extremely challenging. Only skilled local female workers can handle this task. It's crucial to select coffee beans that are perfectly ripe during harvesting, as underripe or overripe beans will affect the coffee quality.

Processing Method

Washed processing method: Blue Mountain only uses washed processing.

The washed processing method uses water and fermentation to remove the skin, pulp, and mucilage. Farms using this method must build washing pools capable of introducing a continuous supply of fresh water. During processing, the skin and pulp are first removed, allowing fermentation for 12-18 hours. The fermented beans are then placed in pools and moved back and forth, using the friction between beans and the power of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until smooth and clean. After washing, the coffee beans are still enclosed in the parchment shell with a moisture content of 50%. They must be sun-dried to reduce the moisture content to 12-14%, otherwise they will continue to ferment and become moldy and spoiled. Afterward, the coffee beans are screened and stored in dedicated warehouses. These procedures must be strictly controlled; otherwise, the coffee quality will be affected.

Three Major Growing Regions of Blue Mountain Coffee

The Blue Mountain area is a small place with only 6,000 hectares of planting area, so it's 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 coffee and Jamaican Prime coffee.

Today, the St. Andrew region remains one of the three major growing regions for Blue Mountain coffee, with the other two being the Portland region and St. Thomas region. Some small estates also grow Blue Mountain coffee, such as Wallenford Estate, Silver Hill Estate, and J. Martinez's Atlanta Estate. Even the largest estate owners in this region are considered small-scale by international standards, with many being small landowners whose families have worked on this land for two centuries.

Currently, there are 6 certifications that can represent Blue Mountain coffee origins, such as M.B.C.E (Mavis Bank Central Factory), M.H.C.C.T. (Blue Mountain Coffee Co-operative), P.X.X.S.H. (Portland Blue Mountain Coffee Co-operative), Coffee Industry Board (Wallenford), Coffee Industry Board (St. John's Peak), and J.A.S (Jamaica Agricultural Society), among others. Some estate-level coffees will also be marked on wooden barrels.

Popular Blue Mountain Coffee Brands

Next, let's introduce several common Blue Mountain coffee brands:

Coffee Trades

The estate name is CLYDESDALE, and the company's coffee factory is located in the backyard of the CIB office building. The estate is situated on the halfway up Blue Mountain at around 1,200 meters. Jamaica's other two major Blue Mountain coffee companies are Wallenford and Mavis Bank. Both companies were originally state-owned enterprises. Wallenford's production exceeds 60% of Jamaica's total Blue Mountain output, while Mavis Bank's production exceeds 20%. Mavis Bank is also one of the few Jamaican Blue Mountain companies that handles all three grades of coffee: Jamaican Blue Mountain, Jamaican High Mountain, and Jamaican Prime coffee.

WALLENFORD

WALLENFORD Estate is located in the heart of Jamaica's Blue Mountain range—on the slopes of Mount Catherine at around 1,524 meters elevation. WALLENFORD Estate began planting Blue Mountain coffee in 1790. The perennially cold and foggy climate makes the coffee fruits sweet and plump, producing extremely unique and high-quality Blue Mountain coffee beans.

Moreover, while the Jamaican government sold and privatized most estates, WALLENFORD ESTATE is the only one that remained under direct management and operation by the Jamaican government. Its quality control process is the strictest, not excessively pursuing commercial operations but taking the maintenance of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee's reputation as its mission.

1. Official registered logo of the Jamaica Coffee Board, used for certification and inspection of exported Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee;
2. Jamaica Coffee Board (CIB) officially registered BLUE MOUNTAIN COFFEE® trademark, identifying authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee packaging;
3. WALLENFORD COFFEE COMPANY registered trademark, identifying WALLENFORD Blue Mountain coffee packaging.

Mavis Bank

The Munn family began operating Mavis Bank company in 1885. The location at that time was slightly higher than the current site and was called Strawberry Hill. Mavis Bank processes coffee cherries at high altitudes. They invested in brand-new equipment, which significantly improved their trial production coffee beans because they have a truly flawless processing process. The flavor of this coffee is very mild and smooth with good body, sometimes reminiscent of high mountain Dongding oolong tea aroma.

R.S.W Blue Mountain

R.S.W Blue Mountain Estate is located in the southeastern mountains of Jamaica. R.S.W refers to 100% Blue Mountain coffee produced by its Resource, Sherwood Forest, and Whitfield Hall estates. Coffee grown in these three regions ranges from approximately 700 to 1,600 meters in altitude. The mountains are often shrouded in cool clouds and mist, which is very beneficial for coffee tree growth. After harvesting, all fruits are concentrated at the Sherwood Forest washing processing plant for processing.

Clifton Mount Estate

Clifton Mount is Jamaica's oldest coffee producing area still in normal operation today. Moreover, in Jamaica, only Clifton Farm has the "Rainforest Alliance" certification. FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain No. 1 comes from Clifton Farm and uses traditional washed processing.

As early as the mid-18th century (around 1750), Clifton Farm began planting and producing coffee. The coffee cultivation and processing areas here are located at an average altitude of 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters). Sufficient altitude, gentle afternoon clouds and mist enveloping the mountain forests for shade, abundant sunlight, and mineral-rich planting soil provide good growing conditions for coffee trees and also extend the maturation period of coffee cherries.

Gold Cup

Established in 2003, Gold Cup is a company founded through collaboration between Dr. Charles Lyn and several farmer teams in the designated Blue Mountain region. Mount Lebanon in St. Andrew (elevation approximately 975-1,280 meters) and Abbey Green Estate in St. Thomas (elevation approximately 1,158-1,585 meters) are both partners. The well-known Abbey Green is also currently one of the largest estates in the Jamaican Blue Mountain region.

To ensure the best quality and quality control, Gold Cup invests significant costs in coffee post-processing, such as updating post-processing hardware equipment through new pulping machines. They also maintain good control at stages of green bean processing, drying, and roasting sample testing. Gold Cup is also the largest shareholder of the well-known BMCP processing plant. Fully matured red fruits harvested from high-altitude areas in St. Thomas and St. Andrew are sent to the company's affiliated washing processing plant. The first stage of processing still pre-screens floating beans, then they enter the Blue Mountain Coffee Processors LTD processing plant for drying. After screening and sun-drying, they are rested for 8 weeks, and then graded again according to green bean size, density, color, and appearance. Finally, cupping confirms whether there are any potential imperfections. All procedures are completed simultaneously under the guidance and control of the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (CIB), with all specifications executed according to Jamaica's highest domestic standards. The quality of green beans is particularly reflected in its flagship brand "Amber Estate."

Gold Cup currently has two brands: "Amber Estate" and "BMCP" from the Blue Mountain Coffee Processors LTD processing plant. Among them, the independent Amber Estate is its top-tier flagship brand. Coffee cherries are 100% harvested from Abbey Green and Mount Lebanon estates, and strictly selected from the highest quality green beans graded by the Blue Mountain Coffee Processors processing plant.

Blue Mountain Coffee Varieties

The variety of Blue Mountain coffee is Typica.

Typica's top leaves are bronze-colored, and the beans are oval or slender-pointed. The plant is tall with slightly inclined branches at angles of 50-70 degrees. It has elegant flavor but weak constitution and poor disease resistance. Each tree produces very low coffee yields with few fruits.

The Typica variety has a characteristic feature—the leaf tips are copper-colored, hence called red-topped coffee. The opposite leaves of the coffee tree are long-oval with smooth leaf surfaces. The terminal branches are long with few branches. The flowers are white, blooming at the base where the petiole connects to the branch. Mature coffee cherries look like cherries and are bright red.

How Did Japan Get Priority Purchasing Rights?

Whenever Blue Mountain coffee is mentioned, everyone knows that a large portion of Blue Mountain coffee was acquired by Japan back then, making it difficult to find Blue Mountain coffee outside of Japan. There's a history behind this!

In 1950, the Jamaican government established the Jamaican Coffee Industry Board, which set quality standards for Jamaican coffee and supervised the implementation of these standards to ensure the quality of Jamaican coffee. The board awarded special official seals to Jamaican exported raw and roasted coffee. Because Japanese loans were used to improve production quality, the market was guaranteed.

By 1981, Jamaica had another 1,500 hectares of land opened for coffee cultivation, followed by investment in an additional 6,000 hectares of coffee land. In fact, today's Blue Mountain area is a small place with only 6,000 hectares of planting area, so it's 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: High Mountain Supreme coffee and Jamaican Prime coffee.

According to 2013 Jamaican Coffee Board export statistics, among the limited Blue Mountain coffee bean quotas, 85% are exported to Japan, 5% to the United States, 5% to Europe, and 5% to other countries. However, in the global consumption distribution of authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, according to International Coffee Association statistics, China accounts for 15% of consumption. This is because some Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee shares from Japan, Australia, and Europe are exported to Taiwan through directly operated branches.

Classification and Grading of Blue Mountain

The history of Jamaican coffee can be traced back to the 18th century when the British introduced coffee trees to Jamaica and planted them in the Blue Mountain range. This was further divided into high-altitude Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, Jamaican High Mountain coffee, and Jamaican coffee. Different grades determine different prices.

(1) Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

Within both Blue Mountain coffee and High Mountain coffee, there are four grades each. From highest to lowest quality, they are: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB, where PB stands for Peaberry (round bean). According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters elevation can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. The supreme among coffee specialties is produced in the Blue Mountain area of Jamaica at approximately 2,000-2,256 meters elevation. Due to its location on steep mountain slopes, production is small, with large, high-quality beans and harmonious flavor. It simultaneously has appropriate acidity, bitterness, aroma, body, and sweetness. It is recognized worldwide as a supreme coffee, so the price of national treasure Blue Mountain No.1 is the highest among all Blue Mountain coffees.

(2) Jamaican High Mountain Coffee

Coffee produced below 666 meters in the Jamaican Blue Mountain area is called High Mountain coffee. It is also second only to Blue Mountain coffee in quality and is known by industry insiders as the sibling variety of Blue Mountain coffee. Due to the extremely limited production of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, if you want to taste Jamaican-style coffee, Jamaican High Mountain coffee is your best choice.

(3) Jamaican Coffee

Coffee grown outside the Blue Mountain range is called Jamaican coffee. Originally, Chinese coffee professionals generally had a misconception that only coffee grown above 1,800 meters in the Blue Mountain area could be called Blue Mountain coffee. In fact, above 1,800 meters on the Blue Mountain range, there is only one estate—Amber. Its owner is of Chinese descent with the surname Lyn (Lin), with ancestral roots in Guangdong, China. The estate has only 30 hectares of land with 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.

Authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Has Certificate Certification:

The Jamaican government used to insist that all Blue Mountain coffee should be roasted in Jamaica to ensure consistent quality. In fact, 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. Coffee roasted in Jamaica cannot meet this requirement. Now, Jamaican raw coffee beans can be exported.

CIB

Jamaica is the only country in the world with a government coffee management agency—the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (abbreviated as CIB), which is under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of Jamaica. CIB's functions include cultivation technical guidance, processing training, fair trade, quality supervision, and other matters related to Jamaican Blue Mountain quality and brand. CIB board members are all estate owners who own a certain scale of planting estates in Jamaica (due to industry shifts, newly certified Jamaican Blue Mountain estates now need an area of more than 50 hectares).

CIB stipulates that only Blue Mountain coffee beans produced in regions above 2,200 feet in Jamaican Blue Mountain can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain. Its grades are divided according to bean size into NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and hand-selected PB. The basic standards for NO.1 Blue Mountain green beans include beans above 17 screen, defect rate below 3%, moisture content around 13%, etc. To date, Blue Mountain coffee green beans have only one processing method—washed processing, with no sun-drying or other processing methods.

Currently, the Jamaican Coffee Board can issue certificates for all exported Blue Mountain coffee on the market.

There are three types of certificates:

1. Quality certificate issued by the Jamaican Coffee Board
2. Authorization 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)

3. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee origin certificate

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

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain imported from the origin some time ago has this certificate.

Among all coffees, only Blue Mountain uses barrel packaging; other coffees are exported in jute bags. This is said to date back to the mid-18th century during the British colonial period when flour barrels shipped from Britain to Jamaica were recycled to transport coffee and rum. Today's wooden barrels are made from wood from temperate forests in the United States. The advantage of wooden barrels is that they absorb and release internal and external humidity without much change, which can alleviate sudden temperature changes during transportation. Additionally, barrel packaging seals and isolates coffee aroma, maintaining the best coffee quality, but the additional costs are higher.

How Should Blue Mountain Coffee Be Roasted?

Simply put, roast Blue Mountain thoroughly "inside and out," and based on being fully roasted, use better roasting techniques to express the flavor of this bean.

Caramelization is the process that most significantly affects coffee flavor. After 6-7 minutes of roasting, green beans absorb a large amount of heat energy, initiating pyrolysis reactions and the first crack sound. Some sugars convert to carbon dioxide, moisture continues to evaporate, new aromatic components gradually develop, forming so-called coffee oils, which combine with hundreds of aromatic substances such as nicotinic acid, citric acid, quinic acid, malic acid, acetic acid, caffeine, etc.

Roasting curve: Set drum temperature to 170°C, heat fully open, airflow at 3. After 1 minute, adjust heat to 140°C, airflow unchanged. At 5'10'', temperature reaches 153°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, dehydration complete. Adjust heat to 115°C, airflow to 4;

At 8'00" minutes, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast smell clearly turns to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'12", first crack begins, adjust heat down to 90°C, airflow fully open (adjust heat very carefully, not so low that there's no cracking sound). Drop at 201.3°C.

Cupping

A perfect and subtle balance of acidity, body, and aroma. Its acidity is bright and delicate. Its body is as smooth as velvet. Its aroma has a slight penetrating quality, accompanied by floral, spicy, and citrus tones. There's a hint of cocoa aftertaste in the mouth.

The taste is very clean, complex, and very mild, with chocolate sweetness and very strong body. The flavor is rich and mellow, with a perfect combination of coffee's sweetness, acidity, and bitterness. It has no bitterness at all, only moderate and perfect acidity with a persistent fruity finish.

Dry aroma: Roasted peanut, hazelnut, melon, chocolate-like

Wet aroma: Rose tea, caramel, honey, black chocolate, almond skins, silky mouthfeel, brightness

How Should We Brew Blue Mountain Coffee?

Filter cup choices for daily brewing: V60 filter cup, Kalita wave, and KONO can all be used

Using KONO filter cup as an example:

Parameters: 15g coffee, water temperature 86-88°C, grind medium-coarse like granulated sugar (China standard 20 mesh sieve, 75% pass rate), equivalent to EK43s setting 10.5, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15, total time around 2 minutes

Technique: 30g water for bloom, bloom time 30s, slowly pour water to about 125g and stop. Wait until the water level drops to just before exposing the coffee bed, then start pouring to 225g.

Little Tips:

Blue Mountain is roasted relatively dark. If the water temperature is too high, it will easily produce astringency and have a very obvious smoky flavor.

How to Identify Authentic vs. Fake Blue Mountain?

1. Appearance: Blue Mountain coffee green beans are blue-green in color, very uniform in appearance, medium to small in size, with slightly raised ends. After roasting, they expand significantly in volume and become very plump.
2. Grinding: True Blue Mountain coffee beans grow at high altitudes, and their cell structure is relatively loose. When ground by hand, they feel very crisp, smooth, and continuous, without any sense of resistance.
3. Aroma: The aroma is very rich and dense; so-called "Blue Mountain blend" coffees do not have this aroma.
4. Taste: True Blue Mountain coffee has a balanced, rich taste without any single flavor being prominent or lacking. This is also the most critical identification point that no other coffee bean can match.

So, What is Blue Mountain Flavor Coffee?

The so-called "Blue Mountain blend" actually has nothing to do with Blue Mountain. The reason this situation arose is that early Blue Mountain coffee was rare and expensive. Operators based on Blue Mountain's flavor created coffee close to Blue Mountain's taste by mixing beans with dark roasting. Therefore, conscientious merchants in domestic and international markets will tell customers that this is "Blended Blue Mountain," "Blue Mountain blend," "Blue Mountain flavor," or "Blue Mountain-style" coffee beans, not genuine Blue Mountain coffee.

True Blue Mountain and Blue Mountain flavor are two different concepts. Generally, other coffee varieties are roasted to imitate the taste of Blue Mountain coffee. "Blue Mountain blend" beans are mixed with relatively large shape differences, making them easier to identify. Also don't believe in "premium Blue Mountain" for tens of dollars per pound or "Blue Mountain coffee" for just over ten yuan a cup.

Not all products labeled "Blue Mountain" are genuine Blue Mountain. I hope this helps everyone distinguish!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473