What is the taste of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee? Is FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee expensive? Jamaica

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What is the Taste of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee?

How does Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee taste? Is FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee expensive? What are the production regions of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee?

The history of Jamaican coffee beans is long and storied. In 1728, the then-British Governor Sir Nicholas Lawes imported coffee from the French island of Martinique to Jamaica. Due to the local climate being extremely suitable for coffee cultivation, Jamaica exported 83,000 pounds of premium coffee just nine years after its introduction. R.S.W Blue Mountain Coffee is composed of three local coffee estates in Jamaica's Blue Mountain region: Resource, Sherwood Forest, and Whitfield Hall. These represent the most stable and highest quality Blue Mountain coffee. Each estate has over 180 years of history, and the estate owners work together. Several years later, they created the legend of barrel-aged Blue Mountain estate brand coffee. R.S.W only processes coffee from its own group of estates and never buys beans from other estates. They primarily use the Sherwood coffee processing plant (built before 1800) as their exclusive processing facility. Coffee cherries from all three estates are sent here for processing. Freshly harvested coffee cherries are placed in a humidity-controlled storage room, and every detail of the processing process is handled with extreme care to provide buyers with the finest Blue Mountain coffee.

Blue Mountain Coffee Production Regions

The Blue Mountain coffee production region is located in eastern Jamaica. Only coffee grown at altitudes between 3,000 and 5,500 feet within this region can be called authentic "Jamaica Blue Mountain" coffee. Coffee grown at altitudes between 1,500 and 3,000 feet can only be called "Jamaica High Mountain," while coffee grown below 1,500 feet is designated as "Jamaica Supreme" or "Jamaica Low Mountain." Areas above 5,500 feet are conservation forests where coffee cultivation is prohibited.

Jamaican Government's Quality Control Efforts

The Jamaican government's serious efforts were mainly aimed at increasing coffee production and building a central coffee processing plant to facilitate coffee processing and green bean grading. These improvements did enhance quality but were not very successful. In 1943, Jamaica's largest coffee buyer at the time, Canada, still could not accept the quality standards. In 1944, the Jamaican government established a central coffee "water" processing plant. All coffee intended for export had to be sent there for processing and grading. From this point, the quality of Jamaica's exported coffee gradually improved. In June 1950, the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board was established, formally making the state responsible for the quality of exported coffee beans. Currently, there are five government-certified 100% Blue Mountain coffee processing plants: Wallenford, Mavis Bank, Old Tavern, Silver Hill, and Moy Hall.

Challenges and Characteristics of Blue Mountain Coffee

Blue Mountain coffee is a high-quality Caribbean coffee that, like coffee from other countries, suffers damage from natural hurricanes. We have seen too many damaged beans that, when cupped, have a cabbage-like flavor. In years when hurricanes strike, prices are always affected and sometimes the coffee cannot be sold at all. Additionally, the hot and humid environment of the island nation often causes coffee beans to become insect-damaged or develop white spots. Truly flawless coffee beans are always rare. Furthermore, the Japanese purchase 70-80% of Blue Mountain coffee, keeping prices high. Genuine high-altitude 100% pure Blue Mountain coffee is produced through Jamaica's national processing plants. The coffee is packed in special wooden barrels, and each barrel comes with a certificate.

Property Characteristics

Estate: RSW Estates - composed of three R.S.W estates

Grade: Certified 100% Blue Mountain - officially certified 100% Blue Mountain coffee

Region: Blue Mountain

Country: Jamaica

Mark: Sherwood coffee processing plant

Altitude: 3,000-5,500 feet

Coffee Characteristics

Varietal: Jamaica Blue Mountain Cultivar

Processing: Wet-processed

Appearance: 0 d/300gr, 18 Screen (0 defects/300g, 18 screen)

Top Jury Descriptions: Cupping roast level begins 60 seconds after first crack (Cinnamon)

Aroma/Flavor: Grain aroma, high mountain oolong tea fragrance, jasmine flower aroma, chamomile, floral fragrance, brown sugar sweetness, honey sweetness

Acidity: Very fresh, clean, delicate, citrus, green apple acidity, gentle medium acidity

Complexity & Other: Smooth and gentle, balanced and soft, delicate and subtle, excellent mouthfeel, long floral aftertaste, with sweetness developing in the middle portion of the aftertaste

Overall Evaluation: R.S.W Blue Mountain coffee is of excellent quality, accounting for only 1% of all Blue Mountain coffee production and is only available at specific specialty coffee shops. Within this 1%, only a portion is sold to specific coffee buyers, making the supply extremely limited. This is 2011's newly harvested R.S.W Blue Mountain coffee, which reveals fresh floral notes within its gentle and balanced flavor profile.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method

Dripper: KONO dripper

Water Temperature: 88°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 4

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:14, 17g coffee grounds. First infusion with 25g water, bloom for 30 seconds. Second infusion to 238g water total. Extraction time approximately 2:30 minutes.

Analysis: The KONO dripper has fewer ribs at the bottom, causing the filter paper to adhere closely to the dripper, which restricts airflow. This allows water and coffee grounds to have longer contact and steeping time in the dripper, ensuring extraction time and extraction rate for coarse grinds. This enables the coffee grounds to be fully extracted, enhancing the rich mouthfeel and making the flavor more concentrated.

Flavor: High balance, clean, thick and solid mouthfeel, persistent dark chocolate aftertaste.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473