What Are the Benefits of Drinking Blue Mountain Coffee? Where Can I Buy Authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Beans?

The Legendary Blue Mountain Coffee

When it comes to coffee, there's one name that's undoubtedly familiar to everyone. While you may not have actually tasted it yet, you can always sense its premium status and premium price from the conversations surrounding it. This is the coffee hailed as "the world's best coffee" – FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will explore the story behind Blue Mountain Coffee's fame, where you can enjoy authentic FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Black Coffee, and understand what makes it so valuable.

How Much Does Authentic FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Coffee Cost?

In the era before specialty coffee became popular, Blue Mountain Coffee represented the pinnacle of second-wave specialty coffee, becoming a top-tier single-origin coffee widely discussed among coffee enthusiasts. More than its flavor, what people often mention is that "Blue Mountain is expensive." Why is this?

Before the new millennium, enjoying a cup of Blue Mountain Black Coffee in China would cost dozens or even hundreds of yuan, which was extremely luxurious given the consumption levels of that time, and it might not even be authentic. As the Jamaican government allocated more Blue Mountain quotas to consumer markets worldwide, it's now much easier to enjoy genuine Blue Mountain in China. FrontStreet Coffee's menu offers FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans at 158 yuan per 100g pack, while in-store tasting costs only 60 yuan per cup (approximately 200ml). FrontStreet Coffee sources its FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee from the historic Clifton Mountain Estate in Jamaica, processed using the washed method.

How Did Jamaica's FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Become Famous?

Before the 1960s, Jamaica's coffee beans were already very popular in the entire specialty market. In 1969, Jamaica was severely affected by hurricane disasters, with multiple industries falling into difficulties, and the coffee industry was no exception. At this time, Japan's UCC company provided financial assistance to Jamaica's coffee industry and introduced scientific ecological cultivation methods. The Jamaican government, grateful for the help, signed a 30-year contract with Japan, agreeing to supply 90% of premium Blue Mountain Coffee quotas to Japan, with the remaining 10% allocated to European and American countries.

During this period, Blue Mountain Coffee was not fully consumed in Japan's domestic market, so they would sell portions of Blue Mountain Coffee at high prices to other Asian countries and regions. Coupled with Japan's intensified promotional efforts, coffee enthusiasts in neighboring countries began to pursue Blue Mountain Coffee, such as Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Since 2000, the "Blue Mountain craze" gradually spread to mainland China, leading to the phenomenon of high prices and difficulty in obtaining Blue Mountain Coffee.

In 2008, during the global economic crisis, Jamaica attempted to sell Blue Mountain Coffee to more countries, and coincidentally, the agreement with Japan had expired, allowing more Blue Mountain quotas to be distributed to other countries. With the expansion of China's coffee market demand, many domestic merchants can now directly import Blue Mountain Coffee beans from Jamaica. This is the main reason why Blue Mountain Coffee beans are now cheaper than before.

Where Are High-Quality FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Beans Grown?

The high quality of FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Coffee is naturally inseparable from the advantages of its growing environment. The Blue Mountain range is surrounded by Caribbean Sea waters, creating a unique island-style tropical rainforest microclimate. During rainy seasons, rainfall is concentrated with good drainage. Volcanic ash from active volcanoes enriches the soil with nutrients, so coffee trees require minimal irrigation and fertilization. With abundant year-round sunshine, lingering mist, and cool, comfortable high-altitude growing areas perfect for various crops, locals typically grow coffee trees alongside banana trees on the slopes of Blue Mountain.

The Jamaican Coffee Industry Board has designated approximately 6,000 hectares of growing area in the Blue Mountain range, with strict regulations: only Typica coffee beans produced in this region can be called "Blue Mountain Coffee." Coffee from other regions is called High Mountain Coffee. According to the areas delineated by the CIB, the forest areas growing Blue Mountain Coffee are at altitudes of approximately 910-1700 meters, 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.

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee belongs to the Typica variety. When grown at higher altitudes, Typica's flavor characteristics become more pronounced. Additionally, the Typica variety has poor disease resistance and is highly susceptible to diseases, coupled with low fruit yield per plant, requiring more careful human attention. Furthermore, the terrain at high altitudes in Blue Mountain is uneven, making management and harvesting very difficult, thus requiring highly skilled harvesters, which further affects yield. In recent years, less than 15% of coffee beans produced in Jamaica (approximately 900 tons) can carry the Blue Mountain Coffee label. After harvesting, coffee cherries are immediately transported to processing plants for processing, using the washed method to remove the coffee fruit pulp and dry it.

What Is the Highest Grade of FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Beans Called?

Just like other industries with grade classifications, the coffee world also has its own grading system, and the highest grade of Blue Mountain Coffee is Blue Mountain No. 1, followed by Blue Mountain No. 2 and Blue Mountain No. 3. FrontStreet Coffee sources the highest grade Blue Mountain No. 1 batch, which offers chocolate, cream, and caramel-like aromas, along with a very balanced, rich mouthfeel, suitable for enthusiasts seeking the original flavors of coffee.

Compared to other coffee-producing regions, Jamaica was the first country to recognize coffee's "terroir." The quality standards for Blue Mountain green beans cover multiple categories: bean size, defect rate, color, uniformity, and cupping performance after roasting (including dry aroma, wet aroma, acidity, flavor, body, cleanliness, etc.).

Bean size is determined using various mesh sizes, with beans that don't pass through the holes meeting the required specifications. Color evaluation includes visual observation and colorimeter readings, with blue-green being the highest grade. Combining these various standards, Blue Mountain Coffee is classified into 4 grades, from highest to lowest: Blue Mountain No. 1, Blue Mountain No. 2, Blue Mountain No. 3, and Blue Mountain Peaberry. Top-grade Blue Mountain No. 1 green beans must meet specifications of 17 mesh or larger, defect rate below 3%, moisture content around 13%, and exhibit rich coffee aroma in cupping, with smooth, balanced flavor, low acidity, and persistent aftertaste.

Blue Mountain Coffee beans that have completed quality inspection are transported using different materials according to different grades. Blue Mountain No. 1, 2, and 3 are the only coffees in the world exported in wooden barrels, available in three specifications: 70kg, 30kg, and 15kg. Other grades of Jamaican coffee are exported in 60kg jute bags. Compared to coarse jute bags, oak barrels have the advantage of absorbing and releasing internal and external humidity, while preventing coffee aroma from escaping, helping maintain more stable moisture content in the beans and ensuring more consistent roasting. Later, wooden barrels also became one of the identifiers for authentic Blue Mountain Coffee, and FrontStreet Coffee's stores display the wooden barrels used to transport Blue Mountain No. 1 green beans.

How Should You Best Enjoy Authentic FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Beans?

As the domestic coffee scene continues to thrive, you can now brew a delicious cup of FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Coffee at home without visiting a coffee shop. Many friends who have purchased FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans consult FrontStreet Coffee on how to brew it better. Here, FrontStreet Coffee will explain our extraction approach based on our store's brewing methods~

First, FrontStreet Coffee confirms the freshness of the coffee beans before brewing. If the roast date is more than a month old, FrontStreet Coffee will choose fresher coffee beans. Since coffee beans have an optimal flavor window after roasting, the coffee aroma accelerates loss over storage time, making it difficult to present the original flavors during brewing. This is why FrontStreet Coffee insists on shipping only coffee roasted within 5 days – FrontStreet Coffee hopes every guest can enjoy the complete flavor window of the coffee beans.

When brewing coffee beans with predominantly bitter notes, FrontStreet Coffee typically prioritizes using the KONO dripper, aiming to highlight the coffee's rich body. The upper part of the KONO dripper allows better contact with the filter paper. Compared to the V60 dripper, the extraction method is primarily immersion-based, increasing the overall concentration of the coffee to enhance its body, making it very suitable for brewing FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Coffee. Similarly, the KONO dripper is also suitable for brewing FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate coffee beans and FrontStreet Coffee Golden Mandheling coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's store parameters for brewing FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain No. 1 are:

Dripper: KONO dripper
Water temperature: 88°C
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Coffee grounds: 15g
Grind size: EK43s - setting 10.5 (75% pass-through rate for 20-mesh standard sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee first wets the KONO dripper, then aligns and places the filter paper for better fit. After pouring out the water from the serving carafe, we add 15g of coffee grounds. Using 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, we then begin center-based circular pouring with small water flow until reaching 125g, then pause. When the coffee bed drops to half the dripper's height, we begin the second pour using the same technique until reaching 225g. Once all dripping is complete, we remove the dripper.

FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain No. 1 offers the sweet aroma of dark chocolate, caramel sweetness, and soft, elegant acidity. Each flavor is balanced in combination, with a smooth and rich mouthfeel, presenting a very typical Blue Mountain character.

What Are the Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee?

For many office workers, a morning cup of coffee is essential. Moderate caffeine helps us quickly refresh and awaken, sometimes aids in reducing body edema, and with very low calories, it can boost metabolism. Drinking it an hour before exercise helps burn fat, making it one of the recommended beverages for many fitness enthusiasts. However, FrontStreet Coffee still needs to remind everyone that only pure black coffee offers these benefits. Adding syrups, condensed milk, or coffee creamers can easily bring extra calories, and long-term consumption is not beneficial to our health. Therefore, we recommend everyone to drink pure black coffee.

Whether coffee is healthy is a long-standing global topic, but the current consensus in the medical community is that moderate coffee consumption has no adverse health effects and does not increase the risk of certain cancers; in fact, it may even be beneficial. FrontStreet Coffee suggests that no more than 3 cups of coffee per day is beneficial and harmless, but this should also be considered based on individual constitution. When we experience insomnia, gastrointestinal discomfort, or other issues after drinking coffee, we should not consume excessive caffeine.

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473