Are You Drinking Blue Mountain Coffee or Blue Mountain Flavored Coffee? Does Blue Mountain Flavored Coffee Taste Good?

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Have You Ever Had Blue Mountain Coffee?

Think carefully before answering this question.

For example, first consider what price you paid for that Blue Mountain coffee. Did a kilogram of green beans cost more than 600 yuan?

If not, then you can be certain that you drank fake Blue Mountain.

The Ubiquity of "Blue Mountain"

The term "Blue Mountain" has become so commonplace that searching for coffee beans on various online shopping platforms will reveal numerous "Blue Mountain" products.

However, there's a significant catch to this!

For instance, if you look carefully at the names of these coffees, they basically won't simply be "Blue Mountain Coffee," but rather things like "Blue Mountain Flavor Coffee" or "Blue Mountain Blend."

At least legitimate coffee brands do this, though some questionable coffee brands might directly label their products as Blue Mountain.

And these major brands go to such lengths with these names because these coffees aren't actually Blue Mountain coffee in the strict sense.

What True Blue Mountain Really Is

So-called Blue Mountain is a mountain located in Jamaica. This mountain has excellent climate conditions and is an outstanding coffee origin. Because of this, genuine Blue Mountain coffee is considered a specialty coffee.

But not all coffee from Blue Mountain is called Blue Mountain coffee. Only coffee from a specific altitude range is certified, with very limited annual production that most people never actually encounter.

Traditionally, only coffee grown at elevations between 910 meters and 1,700 meters could be called Jamaica Blue Mountain. Coffee grown at elevations between 460 meters and 910 meters is called Jamaica High Mountain, and coffee grown below 460 meters elevation is called Jamaica Supreme or Jamaica Low Mountain. (All land in Jamaica above 1,700 meters is a forest preserve, so no coffee is grown there.)

Because of this, in the eyes of many baristas, discussing "Blue Mountain coffee" is often considered one of "the three most uncultured topics in the coffee world." (The other two are "Kopi Luwak" and "Why is this coffee sour?")

The Reality Behind the Price

Speaking of which, according to professional evaluations, Blue Mountain coffee does taste quite good, but its high price isn't entirely due to its flavor; one major reason for its exorbitant price is that its trade has long been monopolized by Japanese traders. Yes, a significant portion of its price has nothing to do with its quality at all.

The reason so many "Blue Mountain flavor coffees" try to associate themselves with "Blue Mountain" isn't because it's so incredibly delicious; it's simply because everyone knows the name and perceives it as prestigious, so businesses naturally cater to this fantasy.

About FrontStreet Coffee

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

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