Is There Real Blue Mountain Coffee in Blue Mountain Blend? How is it Blended? True Blue Mountain Washed Processing

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The World-Renowned Blue Mountain Coffee

The world-renowned "Blue Mountain Coffee" has won the hearts of coffee lovers with its mellow taste and its perfect balance of acidity, bitterness, aroma, richness and sweetness. Because Blue Mountain is itself rare and expensive, it is usually drunk as a single origin. Only siphon and pour-over brewing best showcase its mellow aroma and long-lasting aftertaste.

Many "Blue Mountain Coffees" on the market are in fact so-called "Blue Mountain blended coffee" or "Blue Mountain flavored" coffee. Look closely and you will find labels reading "Blended" or "Flavor." By definition, "Blue Mountain blended coffee" contains no less than 30 percent Blue Mountain beans. Many people use such blended beans for milk-based drinks like lattes, cappuccinos and mochas. If roasters follow the idea of seven-day fresh roasting, using genuinely high-quality beans and a fresh, appropriate roast, every cup will leave a lasting fragrance and an unforgettable aftertaste.

What Is True Blue Mountain Coffee?

The Blue Mountain Range lies in the eastern part of Jamaica. The mountain takes its name because on clear days, when the sun shines directly on the azure Caribbean, the peak reflects the brilliant blue light of the sea. The highest summit reaches 2,256 meters, making it the tallest point in the Caribbean and a famous tourist destination. The area lies in the coffee belt, with fertile volcanic soil, unpolluted fresh air, a humid climate and year-round fog and rain (average precipitation of 1,980 mm, temperatures around 27°C). That climate and the ultra-high altitude created the world-famous Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.

Introducing Clifton Farm

Clifton Mountain is the oldest coffee producing area in Jamaica still in normal operation today, and Clifton Farm is the only one in Jamaica with Rainforest Alliance certification.

It is recognized as a very high-quality, world-famous Blue Mountain producing area. Its elegant great house farm lies in the Newcastle area of the island, on the eastern slope of Catherine's Peak at an altitude of 4,300 feet.

History

As early as the mid-18th century, around 1750, Clifton Farm began planting and producing coffee.

According to an 1810 survey by the Jamaica Institute, Robert Hamilton owned the farm at that time. Clifton Mountain was divided into two parts: 80 acres of coffee and 427 acres of pasture on the mountaintop, and 111 acres of coffee and 264 acres of pasture at the foot of the mountain.

The Blue Mountain area is a small place with only 6,000 hectares of planting, so it is impossible for every coffee labeled "Blue Mountain" to have been grown there. Clifton Farm is the largest estate in the area today, yet it is still considered small-scale cultivation by international standards. Many estate owners are smallholders whose families have worked this land for two centuries.

The famous British painter and writer Mrs. Marian North visited Jamaica and spent 5 months on Clifton Mountain. In her autobiography "Recollections of a Happy Life," she mentions the Clifton Hotel where she stayed: "The Clifton Hotel belongs to a local gentleman who lost his wife. He was unwilling to live in the hotel anymore, and instead rented it to different people weekly, allowing more people to experience the cold air at 5,000 feet altitude and to stroll among Jamaica's best and oldest coffee plantations."

Clifton Mountain Village

The coffee cultivation and processing area sits at an average altitude of 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters). Sufficient altitude, gentle afternoon clouds and mist wrapping the forest for shade, ample sunlight and mineral-rich planting soil give the coffee trees excellent growing conditions and also extend the ripening of the cherries.

In 1953 the Jamaican government established the Coffee Industry Board (CIB) to regulate and guarantee the quality of Jamaican coffee. Jamaica was the first country in the world to designate a specific geographical location for a particular coffee brand, somewhat like how France created the AOC system for its wine industry.

All coffee exported from Jamaica is certified by the CIB. Through strict testing by trained quality control experts, it guarantees that all exports are 100 percent authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.

The Sharp Family: Jason, Lawrence (father) and Richard

As early as the mid-18th century, around 1750, Clifton Farm began planting and producing coffee. According to the 1810 Jamaica Institute survey, Robert Hamilton owned the farm then, and it is now managed by the Sharp family.

Sharp Inspecting Red Cherries

Clifton's high altitude and long history, combined with its unique processing methods, give it a wonderful and distinctive character. These methods allow Clifton to offer not only the characteristic roundness and smoothness of Blue Mountain No. 1 but also rich flavors with subtle floral notes.

That is also why Clifton is so beloved and commands such high prices, with a standard of over ten thousand per barrel.

Washed Processing Method

Blue Mountain uses only washed processing.

The washed method uses washing and fermentation to remove the skin, pulp and mucilage. Farms using it must build washing tanks and be able to bring in a continuous supply of fresh water. During processing, the skin and pulp are removed first, then the beans ferment for 12-18 hours. The fermented beans are then placed in the tank and moved back and forth, using the friction between beans and the power of flowing water to wash them until they are smooth and clean.

After washing, the beans are still enclosed in parchment with a moisture content of 50 percent. They must be sun-dried until moisture falls to 12-14 percent. After that the beans are screened and stored in dedicated warehouses. These procedures must be strictly controlled, or the quality of the coffee is affected.

Certification: Rainforest Alliance certification. Coffee whose bags or barrels carry the certification mark is certified product. Farms must comply with the Sustainable Agriculture System Standards to obtain the certification (the Rainforest Alliance frog logo), and Clifton Estate is the only coffee estate to receive (RFA) Rainforest Alliance certification.

Green Bean Analysis

Blue Mountain has four grades. From top to bottom in quality: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3 and PB (peaberry). According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters can be called Jamaican High Mountain Coffee, and coffee grown outside the Blue Mountain range is called Jamaican Coffee.

Among these, the basic standard for NO.1 Blue Mountain green beans is beans above 17 screen size, a defect rate below 3 percent, moisture content around 13 percent, and so on.

Variety: Typica

Blue Mountain Coffee Cupping

Cupping characteristics: a perfect, subtle balance of acidity, body and aroma. The acidity is bright and delicate. The body is as smooth as velvet. The aroma has a slight penetrating quality, accompanied by floral, spicy and lemon-citrus notes. There is a hint of cocoa in the aftertaste.

The taste is very clean, complex and very mild, with chocolate sweetness and a very strong body. The flavor is rich and mellow, with a perfect balance of coffee's sweetness, acidity and bitterness. It has no bitterness at all, only a moderate and perfectly judged acidity, with a persistent fruity finish.

Dry aroma: roasted peanut, hazelnut, melon, chocolate-like

Wet aroma: oolong tea, caramel, honey, dark chocolate, almond skins, silky mouthfeel, brightness

Brewing Analysis

Daily brewing filter cup choices: V60, Kalita Wave and KONO are all suitable.

KONO parameters: 15 g coffee, water temperature 89°C, grind size 4, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:15, total time around 2:00.

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

Other extraction suggestions:

French Press: 3.5-4 grind size / water temperature 90°C

Siphon: grind size 4, water temperature 89°C

AeroPress: 2.5 grind size, water temperature 88°C

How to Identify Authentic Blue Mountain

1. Appearance: Blue Mountain green beans are blue-green in color, very uniform, medium to small in size, with slightly raised ends. After roasting they increase noticeably in volume and become very full.

2. Grinding: true Blue Mountain beans grow at high altitude and their cellular structure is relatively loose. Ground by hand they feel crisp, smooth and continuous, without any resistance.

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

4. Taste: true Blue Mountain has a balanced, rich taste with no single flavor prominent or missing. No other coffee bean achieves this, which makes it the most important point of identification. Blue Mountain peaberry's aroma is more subtle, while its taste is relatively stronger.

True Blue Mountain and Blue Mountain flavor are two different concepts. In general, other bean varieties are roasted to imitate a taste similar to Blue Mountain. "Blue Mountain blended coffee" uses mixed beans whose shapes differ noticeably, which makes them easier to identify. Also, don't believe in "premium Blue Mountain" at a few dozen yuan per jin or "Blue Mountain coffee" at a dozen yuan a cup.

Not everything labeled "Blue Mountain" is true Blue Mountain. We hope this helps you tell the difference.

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 store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you want a Blue Mountain that is genuine and verifiable rather than a blend, FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 is the one to choose. It is one of the highest grades in the Blue Mountain system, from the historic Clifton Estate, the only Jamaican coffee estate to hold Rainforest Alliance certification. FrontStreet presents complete origin documentation with the original wooden barrels Blue Mountain traditionally ships in, at 15 kg, 45 kg and 70 kg, plus certificates of quality, authorized sales and origin.

FrontStreet roasts the No.1 medium-dark so that Blue Mountain's famous balance leads the cup: nuts, dark chocolate and cream caramel over a soft sweetness, with no flavor dominating and none missing. Pour-over shows it best. FrontStreet suggests a 1:15 to 1:16 ratio, water at 85-88°C and a medium-coarse grind, which draws out the cream, caramel and nut notes while keeping a gentle, bright, clean structure.

A moka pot works equally well when you want a denser cup. Grind slightly finer than for pour-over, use hot water in the base, heat over medium-low, and remove the pot from the heat just before the flow ends. The result amplifies the chocolate, caramel and nut flavors while preserving the signature balance, and with milk it makes an excellent latte or flat white.