How to Identify Authentic Blue Mountain Coffee? The Difference Between Jamaica Blue Mountain and Blue Mountain-Flavored Coffee

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

Introduction

When it comes to drinking coffee, many friends will immediately say, "Give me a cup of Blue Mountain." Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is famous, has limited production, and boasts a long history. It can be said that even if you haven't had specialty coffee, you've heard of Blue Mountain coffee. On the market, you often see "Blue Mountain coffee," "Blue Mountain flavored coffee," and "Blue Mountain blend," which can be dazzling. Not all coffees with "Blue Mountain" in the name are authentic Blue Mountain coffee. If you're not careful, you might drink fake Blue Mountain coffee. 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

The history of Jamaican coffee can be traced back to the 18th century. In 1717, French King Louis XV 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 on the Blue Mountains, which were further divided into high-altitude Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, High Mountain coffee, and Jamaican coffee. Different grades also determine different prices.

Cultivation Altitude

The Blue Mountains are 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 the name. The highest peak of the Blue Mountains reaches 2,256 meters and is the highest peak in the Caribbean region, as well as a famous tourist destination. This area is located in the coffee belt, with fertile volcanic soil, fresh air, no pollution, humid climate, and year-round fog and rain (average precipitation of 1,980 mm, temperature around 27°C). Such climate has created the world-renowned Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, as well as the world's highest-priced coffee.

Genuine Blue Mountain coffee is one of the coffees with the most superior growing conditions in the world. Jamaica's weather, geological structure, and topography together provide an exceptionally ideal venue. Designated Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee can only be grown in the Blue Mountain area, in the eastern north of Kingston, Jamaica. The mountain ridges running through Jamaica extend to the eastern part of the small island, with the Blue Mountains reaching over 2,100 meters. The cool, foggy, and frequent rainfall makes this fertile land well-balanced with rain. Here, people use mixed cultivation methods to grow coffee trees, planting them on terraces alongside banana and avocado trees.

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

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 be able to introduce a continuous supply of fresh water. During processing, the fruit pulp is first removed, and it is fermented for 12-18 hours. Then the fully fermented beans are placed in the pool and moved back and forth, using the friction of the 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 wrapped in the parchment 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 then stored in special warehouses. These procedures must be strictly controlled; otherwise, the quality of the coffee 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 cultivation area. 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 remains one of the three major growing regions for Blue Mountain coffee. 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, and many of these estate owners are small landholders whose families have worked this land for two centuries.

Currently, there are about 6 symbols that can represent the origin of Blue Mountain coffee, such as 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), etc. Some estate-level coffees will also be indicated on wooden barrels.

Varieties

Typica has bronze-colored top leaves, oval or slender-pointed beans, tall tree bodies with slightly inclined branches at 50-70 degrees. It has elegant flavor but weak constitution and poor disease resistance. The coffee yield per tree is very low with few fruit.

Typica variety trees have a characteristic feature - the leaf tips are reddish-brown, known as 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, and the flowers are white, blooming at the base where the petiole connects to the 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. This board sets quality standards for Jamaican coffee and supervises the implementation of these standards to ensure the quality of Jamaican coffee. The board grants special official seals to Jamaican exported raw and roasted coffee. Because Japanese loans were used to improve production quality, market access was guaranteed.

By 1981, Jamaica had opened another 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 cultivation area. 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 of Japan's, Australia's, and Europe's Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee shares are exported to Taiwan through direct-sales branches.

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 Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of Jamaica. The functions of CIB include cultivation technical guidance, processing training, fair trade, quality supervision, and other matters related to the quality and brand of Jamaican Blue Mountain. The board members of CIB are all estate owners who own a certain amount of cultivation estates in Jamaica (due to industrial 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 the Blue Mountain area above 2,200 feet 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. The basic standards for NO.1 Blue Mountain raw beans are beans above 17 screen, defect rate below 3%, moisture content around 13%, etc. Additionally, to date, Frontsteet Blue Mountain coffee raw beans only have one processing method - washed, with no sun-dried or other processing methods.

Another company worth mentioning 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 Mountains 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 holding companies. Wallenford's production exceeds 60% of all Jamaican Blue Mountain production, and Mavis Bank's production exceeds 20%. Moreover, they are one of the few Jamaican Blue Mountain companies that have 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 on the Blue Mountains. These were further divided into high-altitude Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, Jamaican High Mountain coffee, and Jamaican coffee. Different grades also determine different prices.

1. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

Blue Mountain coffee and High Mountain coffee are each divided into four grades. From top to bottom in terms of quality: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB (PB stands for Peaberry). According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters in altitude can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. The supreme of coffees, coffee produced in the Blue Mountains at about 2,000-2,256 meters, due to its location on dangerous mountain slopes, has low production, large beans, excellent quality, and balanced 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 the coffee grade second only to Blue Mountain coffee in quality and is called the brother variety of Blue Mountain coffee by industry insiders. Because Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee has extremely limited production, 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 Mountains 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 could be called Blue Mountain coffee. In fact, above 1,800 meters on the Blue Mountains, there is only one estate - Amber. The 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 in five mountain areas of the Blue Mountains: 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 fine 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 proof 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 proof 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 of Blue Mountain coffee, a certificate is issued.

Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee Flavor

The taste is very clean, and it's 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 its aromatic, smooth richness, which gives me a feeling of gem-like quality. It's precious like a gem. It's complex but very gentle. It's sweet, and it has very strong body. You must taste it to know what I'm talking about." Unique growing conditions and extreme care in all production processes make Jamaican Frontsteet Blue Mountain coffee very famous. The taste 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 flavor.

How to Identify Authentic vs. Fake Blue Mountain?

1. Appearance: The raw beans of Frontsteet Blue Mountain coffee are greenish, very uniform in appearance, medium to small in size, with slightly raised ends. They expand significantly after roasting and become very full.

2. Grinding: Genuine Frontsteet Blue Mountain coffee beans grow at high altitude, and their cytoplasmic structure is relatively loose. When grinding by hand, it feels very crisp, smooth, and continuous without any resistance.

3. Aroma: The aroma is very rich and dense. So-called Blue Mountain blends do not have this aroma.

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

Daily Brewing

Filter cup selection: V60, Kalita wave, and KONO are all suitable

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

Technique: 25-30g water for bloom, bloom 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 and causing over-extraction.

Other Extraction Suggestions

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 Frontsteet Blue Mountain Flavored Coffee?

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

Real 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 around ten yuan per cup.

Not all coffees labeled "Blue Mountain" are real Blue Mountain. 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