The Difference Between Jamaica Blue Mountain and Blue Mountain Flavored Coffee | How Much Does a Cup of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Cost

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When it comes to drinking coffee, many friends will immediately say, "Give me a cup of Blue Mountain." Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee has a high reputation, low production, and a long history. It can be said that even if you haven't had specialty coffee, you've heard of Blue Mountain Coffee. In the market, you often see "Blue Mountain Coffee," "Blue Mountain Flavor Coffee," and "Blue Mountain Blend," which can be dazzling. Not all coffees with "Blue Mountain" on the label are authentic Blue Mountain Coffee. If you're not careful, you might drink fake Blue Mountain. So how do we distinguish which Blue Mountain coffees are real? First, let's understand what Blue Mountain Coffee is.

History of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Beans

The history of Jamaican coffee can be traced back to the 18th century. In 1717, King Louis XV of France ordered coffee to be planted in Jamaica. In the mid-1720s, Jamaican 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.

Planting Altitude

The Blue Mountain range is located in the eastern part of Jamaica. When the weather is clear, the sun shines directly on the azure Caribbean Sea, and the peaks reflect the brilliant blue light of the seawater, 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 is located in the coffee belt, with fertile volcanic soil, fresh air without pollution, humid climate, and year-round fog and rain (average precipitation is 1,980 mm, temperature around 27°C). Such climate conditions have created the world-renowned Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, as well as the world's highest-priced coffee.

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

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

Washed Processing Method: Blue Mountain Only Uses Washed Processing

The washed and fermentation method is used to remove the fruit pulp and mucilage. Farms using the washed method must build washing pools and have access to a continuous supply of fresh water. During processing, the fruit pulp is first removed, then it ferments for 12-18 hours. After fermentation is complete, the beans are placed in the pool and moved back and forth, using the friction between beans and the power of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until they are smooth and clean. After washing, the coffee beans are still encased in the parchment, with a moisture content of 50%, and must be sun-dried to reduce the moisture content to 12-14%. Otherwise, they will continue to ferment and become moldy and spoiled. After this, the coffee beans are sorted and then stored in special warehouses. All 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 coffees labeled "Blue Mountain" to be grown there. Another 12,000 hectares of land are used to grow two other types of coffee (non-Blue Mountain Coffee): High Mountain Supreme Coffee and Jamaican Coffee.

Today's St. Andrew growing region is still one of the three major Blue Mountain Coffee growing regions. The other two major regions are the Portland region and the 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. Many of these estate owners are small landholders whose families have worked this land for two centuries.

Currently, symbols that can represent the origin of Blue Mountain Coffee include six types of marks: 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 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 indicated on wooden barrels.

Varieties

Typica has bronze-colored young leaves and oval or slender-pointed beans. The tree is tall with slightly inclined branches at angles of 50-70 degrees. It has elegant flavor but is weak in constitution with poor disease resistance, and each tree produces very low fruit yields.

Typica variety trees have a characteristic feature: reddish-brown leaf tips, known as red-topped coffee. The opposite leaves of the coffee tree are long oval, with smooth leaf surfaces, long terminal branches with few branches, and white flowers that bloom at the base where leaf stems connect to branches. Mature coffee cherries look like cherries and are bright red.

Why Did Japan Have Priority Purchasing Rights Back Then?

In 1950, the Jamaican government established the Jamaican Coffee Industry Board, which sets quality standards for Jamaican coffee and oversees their implementation to ensure the quality of Jamaican coffee. The Board grants special official seals to exported raw and roasted Jamaican coffee. Because Japanese loans were used to improve production quality, the market was thus guaranteed.

By 1981, Jamaica had developed about 1,500 hectares of land for coffee cultivation, followed by investment in another 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 coffees labeled "Blue Mountain" to be grown there. Another 12,000 hectares of land are used to grow two other types of coffee: High Mountain Supreme Coffee and Jamaican Coffee.

According to 2013 Jamaican Coffee Board export statistics, of the limited Blue Mountain Coffee bean quota, 85% is 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 branch companies.

Jamaica is the only country in the world with a government coffee management agency—the Jamaican Coffee Industry Board (abbreviated as CIB), which is under the Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The CIB's functions include planting technical guidance, processing training, fair trade, quality supervision, and other matters related to the quality and brand of Jamaican Blue Mountain. The CIB's board members are all estate owners who own a certain scale of planting estates in Jamaica (due to industrial shifts, newly certified Jamaican Blue Mountain estates now require 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 manually selected PB (Peaberry). Among these, the basic standards for NO.1 Blue Mountain raw beans include beans larger than 17 mesh, defect rate below 3%, moisture content around 13%, etc. Additionally, to date, Blue Mountain Coffee raw beans only use washed processing, with no sun-drying or other processing methods.

Another noteworthy company should be Coffee Trades, with the estate name CLYDESDALE. The company's coffee factory is located in the backyard of the CIB office building, and the estate is located on the Blue Mountainside at about 1,200 meters. The other two most famous Blue Mountain Coffee companies in Jamaica are Wallenford and Mavis Bank. These two companies were originally state-owned enterprises. Wallenford's production exceeds 60% of all Jamaican Blue Mountain production, and Mavis Bank's production exceeds 20%. Moreover, Mavis Bank is one of the few Jamaican Blue Mountain enterprises that has three grades of coffee: Jamaican Blue Mountain, Jamaican High Mountain, and Jamaican Select Coffee.

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, with different grades determining different prices.

(1) Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

Both Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are each divided into four grades. In terms of quality, from top to bottom they are: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB, where PB is peaberry. According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters altitude can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. The best of the best, coffee produced in the Blue Mountain area of Jamaica at approximately 2,000-2,256 meters altitude, due to its location on dangerous mountainsides, has low production, large beans, excellent quality, and harmonious flavor. It simultaneously possesses appropriate acidity, bitterness, aroma, body, and sweetness. It is recognized worldwide as a top-grade 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 in parts 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 called the brother variety of Blue Mountain Coffee by industry insiders. Due to the extremely low production of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, if you want to taste Jamaican-flavored coffee, then 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 practitioners generally had a misconception that only coffee grown in the Blue Mountain area above 1,800 meters altitude could be called Blue Mountain Coffee. In fact, above 1,800 meters of the Blue Mountain range, there is only one estate, Amber. Its owner is of Chinese descent with the surname Lyn (Lin), whose ancestral home is Guangdong, China. This estate has only 30 hectares of land with very low production. Blue Mountain Coffee is mainly distributed in five mountain areas of the Blue Mountain range: John Crow, St. John's Peak, Mossman's Peak, High Peak, and Blue Mountain Peak.

Authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Has Certificate Authentication

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.

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

Certificates are divided into three types:

(1) Quality certification certificate issued by the Jamaican 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)

(3) Certificate of origin for Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

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

Blue Mountain Coffee Flavor

The taste is very clean, and it is one of the sweetest coffees in the world. This flavor has been described by Jim Reynolds in Peet's Coffee and Tea: "The best example of Jamaica's Blue Mountain Coffee is that it has aroma, smoothness, and richness. It gives me the feeling of gem-like quality. It's as precious as a gem. It's complex but very mild. It's sweet, and it has very strong body. You have to taste it to know what I'm talking about." Unique growing conditions and great care in all production processes make Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee very famous. The flavor is rich and mellow, with perfect balance of coffee's sweetness, acidity, and bitterness. It has no bitterness at all, only moderate and perfect acidity with a persistent fruity taste.

How to Identify Authentic vs. Fake Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Beans?

1. Appearance: Raw Blue Mountain Coffee beans are greenish-blue, very uniform in appearance, medium to small in size, with slightly raised ends. They expand significantly after roasting, becoming very full.

2. Grinding: Authentic Blue Mountain Coffee beans grow at high altitude, and their cytoplasmic structure is relatively loose. When ground by hand, they feel very crisp, smooth, and continuous, without any resistance.

3. Aroma: The aroma is very rich and dense; so-called blended Blue Mountain Coffee does not have this aroma.

4. Taste: Authentic Blue Mountain Coffee has a balanced and rich taste, without any flavor being too prominent or lacking. This is also something that no other coffee beans can achieve and is the most critical identification point. Blue Mountain Peaberry's aroma is more subtle, while the taste is relatively stronger.

Daily Brewing: Filter Cup Selection: V60, Kalita Wave, and KONO are all suitable

Parameters: 15g powder, water temperature 90°C, grind size 3.5, water-to-powder ratio close to 1:15, total time around 2:00

Technique: 25-30g water for blooming, blooming time 30s; first pour to 120g then stop; vertical water flow, small water flow with slow circular motion; second pour to 225g, water flow and circular motion slightly faster to reduce fine particles clogging the filter, causing over-extraction.

Other Extraction Recommendations:

French Press: Grind size 3.5-4, water temperature 90°C

Siphon: Grind size 4, water temperature: 89°C

AeroPress: Grind size 2.5, water temperature 88°C

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 exists is because early Blue Mountain Coffee was rare and expensive. Operators based on the Blue Mountain flavor used mixed beans with dark roasting to create coffee with a taste close to Blue Mountain. 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 real Blue Mountain Coffee.

True Blue Mountain and Blue Mountain flavor are two different concepts. Generally, other bean varieties are roasted to imitate the taste of Blue Mountain Coffee. "Blue Mountain Blend" beans are mixed, with relatively large differences in shape, making them easier to identify. Also don't believe in "premium Blue Mountain" that costs tens of dollars per pound or "Blue Mountain Coffee" that costs only a dozen or so yuan per cup.

Not all coffees labeled "Blue Mountain" are real Blue Mountain. Hope this helps everyone distinguish~

Recommended Brands of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee beans have full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, the cost-performance ratio is extremely high. A half-pound (100g) package costs only about 158 yuan. Calculating at 15g powder per cup of coffee, one package can make 6 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 25 yuan. Compared to café prices that often exceed 100 yuan per cup, this is a conscientious recommendation.

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