How to Roast Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee_Jamaica CIB Official Roasting Recommendations_Jamaican Coffee Brewing Methods

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Cafe Style (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Roasting

According to CIB's official guidance, Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee should be roasted using a slow roast, medium-degree approach. The roaster had several intense debates with a technical officer sent from CIB to China regarding Blue Mountain coffee roasting. This Jamaican gentleman kept recording the temperature rise in a small notebook, constantly shouting: "Too fast, too fast, slow it down." Initially, I couldn't quite understand, but after lengthy debates, I came to treat their requirements as the official Jamaican coffee roasting recommendation from the Jamaican authority for their proud local product.

Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee doesn't grow at high altitudes, and the traditional Typica variety results in relatively soft green beans. With its inherent high-temperature characteristics, if excessive energy is applied during roasting, the temperature rise rate becomes very high. At this point, if the roast degree isn't properly controlled, burnt and smoky flavors will emerge. Although CIB specifies that Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee should be roasted to a medium degree, this level is positioned between the end of first crack and the beginning of second crack, even leaning toward the second crack direction. CIB doesn't allow their coffee to be roasted very lightly, nor does it permit entering second crack. Therefore, the temperature rise rate for Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee cannot be too fast. CIB's official recommendation is 13-14 minutes—a standard that might seem somewhat outdated in today's specialty coffee era. However, Blue Mountain coffee captivated the world over a century ago, and its roasting method is a product of that era, refined through years of accumulated experience.

Brewing Methods

Jamaican coffee is suitable for immersion-style, normal-pressure extraction methods like French press or siphon brewers. I recall that the CIB technical officer personally highly recommended siphon brewing. Personally, as a roaster, I feel that if using pour-over, I recommend adjusting the water-to-coffee ratio to 1:15, or even 1:14, to make it more concentrated. Low-altitude traditional Typica coffee with slower medium roasting tends to produce extraction effects that can seem somewhat watery—perhaps because it's too mild.

Recommended Jamaican Coffee Bean Brands

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted Jamaican coffee—Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Beans—offers complete assurance in both brand and quality. More importantly, it provides excellent value. A half-pound (100g) package costs approximately 158 RMB. Calculating at 15g of coffee per cup, one package can make 6 cups, with each cup costing only about 25 RMB. This is a conscientious recommendation compared to café prices that often exceed 100 RMB per cup.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online services at https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473