What is the Price of Authentic Blue Mountain Coffee? The Flavor and Mouthfeel of Jamaica's Mavis Bank Processing Plant

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What is the price of authentic Blue Mountain coffee? What are the flavor and texture of Jamaica Blue Mountain's Mavis Bank processing plant?

Blue Mountain coffee is a high-quality Caribbean coffee that, like other countries, suffers damage from natural hurricanes. Having seen too many damaged beans that still have a kale-like taste in cupping, the price is always affected in years when hurricanes strike, sometimes making them completely unsellable. Additionally, the hot and humid environment of island nations often causes coffee to suffer from insect damage or develop white spots. Truly flawless coffee beans are always rare, compounded by the Japanese purchasing 70-80% of Blue Mountain coffee, which keeps prices high. All truly high-altitude 100% pure Blue Mountain coffee is produced through official Jamaican processing plants. The coffee is packed in special wooden barrels, and each barrel comes with a certificate.

The Munn family began operating Mavis Bank Company in 1885. The location at that time was slightly higher than the current site and was called Strawberry Hill. Mavis Bank processes coffee cherries at high altitude. They invested in brand-new equipment, and the trial-produced coffee beans showed significant improvement because they have a truly flawless processing process. The texture of this coffee is very mild and smooth with excellent body, sometimes reminiscent of high-mountain frozen oolong tea aroma. Jamaica Mavis Bank Blue Mountain No. 1 beans, Mavis Bank is located about 10 miles northeast of the capital Kingston and is one of the government-certified green bean processing plants in Jamaica. The Munn Family has operated since 1885, and the MBCF trademark and its produced 100% Blue Mountain coffee are renowned worldwide. They are particularly praised for their meticulous green bean processing procedures and elegant, delicate flavor, floral tea aroma, clear sweetness, and solid creamy buttery mouthfeel. Jamaica's Blue Mountain legal coffee growing region is constantly shrouded in blue mist, hence earning the name "Blue Mountain."

On the slopes of Jamaica's Blue Mountains, coffee farms are scattered. In coffee bushes about human height, you can see dense, green, plump, bean-shaped fruits growing on the branches, occasionally mixed with red or purple bean fruits like cherries; that's right, those are the coffee beans that can be produced into the famous Blue Mountain coffee—called "Cherries" or "Cherry Bean."

Coffee beans must be fully ripe and red before they can be picked, as Lenworth Henry—Regional Manager of the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board—introduces. He pointed out that the area suitable for coffee cultivation in Jamaica spans about 3,000 acres, of which only a specific 9,000 acres where coffee is grown can be called Blue Mountain coffee. Blue Mountain itself reaches up to 7,000 feet, while the highest area where coffee can be grown reaches about 5,000 feet.

In fact, so-called Blue Mountain coffee does not refer to all coffee beans grown and produced in the Blue Mountain region, but only to coffee grown in mountainous areas above 1,500 feet in altitude. Therefore, other coffees grown outside the Blue Mountain region can also be called "Blue Mountain coffee" as long as they are above this altitude.

Jamaican coffee beans have a long history. In 1728, the then British Governor Sir Nicholas Lawes imported coffee from French Martinique to Jamaica. Due to the local climate being very suitable for growing coffee beans, nine years after introduction, Jamaica exported 83,000 pounds of quality coffee. Four-fifths of Jamaica's territory consists of mountainous terrain. The Blue Mountain coffee producing area is located in eastern Jamaica, and only coffee grown at altitudes of 3,000-5,500 feet within this region can be considered authentic [Jamaica Blue Mountain]. Other coffees grown at altitudes of 1,500-3,000 feet can only be called [Jamaica High Mountain], while coffee grown below 1,500 feet is [Jamaica Supreme] or [Jamaica Low Mountain]. Areas above 5,500 feet are protected forests where coffee cultivation is prohibited.

The government's serious efforts were mainly aimed at increasing coffee bean production and building central coffee processing plants to facilitate coffee processing and green bean grading. These indeed improved quality but were not very successful. In 1943, Jamaica's largest coffee buyer at the time, Canada, still could not accept this quality. In 1944, the Jamaican government established the Central Coffee Wet Processing Plant, and all coffee intended for export had to be sent there for processing and grading. From then on, the quality of Jamaican exported coffee beans gradually improved. In June 1950, the Jamaica Coffee Board was established, officially responsible for improving and maintaining 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.

Property Characteristics

Grade: Certified 100% Blue Mountain

Region: Blue Mountain

Country: Jamaica

Mark: Mavis Bank Mill

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 is 60 seconds after first crack begins (Cinnamon roast)

Aroma/Flavor: Grain aroma, high mountain oolong tea aroma, jasmine fragrance, grape aroma, chamomile, whiskey aroma, floral and herbal notes, honey sweetness

Acidity: Very refreshing, clean, elegant, citrus, lemon, mild low acidity

Complexity and Other: Balanced and multi-layered, long floral aftertaste, very sweet, delicate as silk

Overall Evaluation: Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee from the Caribbean is rare and precious. The farms belonging to Mavis Bank are mostly located at 5,000 feet altitude. Despite this, their coffee is still mild, smooth, and balanced in taste. Don't expect any surprising characteristics in the cup—that's Jamaican coffee for you. But with over 100% mild balance and special, subtle Jamaican flavors, in terms of cupping scores and green bean quality, this batch of Mavis Bank Jamaica Blue Mountain is the best.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing:

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 pour 25g water, 30s bloom, second pour to 238g water, extraction time around 2:30 minutes

Analysis: The KONO dripper doesn't have many ribs at the bottom, allowing the filter paper to fit closely against the dripper, achieving the purpose of restricting 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 allows the coffee grounds to be fully extracted, enhancing the rich mouthfeel and making the flavor more concentrated.

Flavor: High balance, clean, rich and solid texture, long-lasting dark chocolate aftertaste.

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