How Should Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Be Roasted? An Introduction to Jamaican Blue Mountain Wallenford Estate

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To truly understand the flavor changes and product differences of coffee beans, one must learn about the origins and growers. Different estates produce different flavors, or even within the same estate, different hillsides yield distinct flavors. Every story behind each coffee bean is what FrontStreet Coffee wants to discover. Being able to trace which specific plot of an estate, or which cooperative or farmer the beans come from, is the pursuit of terroir. Only by traveling to coffee origins and stepping into coffee estates can one possibly understand the essence of that hint of coffee, the fascinating flavors, and the ever-changing aromas.

Blue Baron Estate

Located in Jamaica in the Caribbean of Central America, situated in warm valleys at elevations of 2000-3000 feet, and nestled by winding crystal-clear rivers, the estate covers approximately 140 acres. This is the beautiful location of Blue Baron Estate. The soil here is not only fertile but also combines perfect weather conditions to produce high-quality Blue Mountain coffee.

The management of Blue Baron Estate belongs to the Minott family. This family's 70-year history is due to the fact that family members are coffee professionals, which has allowed them to continuously expand the estate's total area. 70 acres are used for coffee cultivation, with original tropical forests interspersed with gentle breezes and warm sunlight. Here grows some of the world's finest coffee. White clouds against the blue sky, plus the shade of natural forest trees, allow the lush green coffee trees time to avoid the scorching damage of strong sunlight. The tree shade provides natural buffer zones, appropriate growing temperatures, and good humidity levels, further enhancing quality and unique flavors.

Whenever harvest time arrives, trained staff use natural spring water for fermentation to maintain the best quality of the coffee beans. The parchment coffee beans are placed on trays for drying, then hulled, cupped to confirm quality, and finally packed in barrels for export.

Arabica Typica

Arabica coffee variety Typica is one of the closest varieties to the original species. The beans are slightly elongated, with clean lemon acidity, sweet aftertaste, and elegant flavor. However, they have weaker constitution and low resistance to leaf rust, making cultivation conditions challenging and yields low. Excellent estate beans such as Jamaica Blue Mountain, Sumatra Mandheling, and Hawaii Kona all belong to the Typica variety.

Coffee Processing Methods

Refers to the process of transforming mature red fruits into dried green beans. Each processing method has its pros and cons, influenced by the natural environment and different needs of the origin, so each origin has its suitable processing methods.

Washed / Wet Processed

After removing the skin and pulp, the beans are soaked in fermentation tanks to ferment, clearing the mucilage remaining on the inner parchment. Then they are washed with water, resulting in one of the characteristics of specialty coffee: rich acidity.

At Blue Baron Estate, whenever harvest time arrives, trained staff use natural spring water for fermentation to maintain the best quality of the coffee beans. The parchment coffee beans are placed on trays for drying, then hulled, cupped to confirm quality, and finally packed in barrels for export.

Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 Blue Baron Estate Washed

Floral and fruity aromas, sugarcane sweetness, premium grapefruit acidity, smooth mouthfeel, hazelnut cream, spicy aromas, rich and full-bodied

How to Roast to Bring Out the Best Flavor of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee believes in roasting Blue Mountain coffee "thoroughly" from inside out, using better roasting techniques on the foundation of proper roasting to express the flavors of Blue Mountain coffee.

Caramelization is the most significant step affecting coffee flavor. After 6-7 minutes of roasting, green beans absorb large amounts of heat energy, initiating pyrolysis reactions and producing the first crack sound. Some sugars convert to carbon dioxide, water continues to evaporate, new aromatic components gradually develop, forming so-called coffee oils, which combine with hundreds of aromatic substances such as nicotinic acid, citric acid, quinic acid, malic acid, acetic acid, caffeine, and more.

Roasting curve: Heat the roaster to 170°C, add beans with damper setting at 3. After 1 minute, adjust heat to 140°C, damper unchanged. Roast until 5'10", temperature reaches 153°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears, dehydration complete. Adjust heat to 115°C, damper to 4.

At 8'00" minutes, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface, toast aroma clearly transforms to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. At 8'12", first crack begins, reduce heat to 90°C, damper fully open (adjust heat very carefully, not so low that crackling stops), discharge at 201.3°C.

FrontStreet Coffee suggests using lower water temperature when brewing Blue Mountain coffee, 86-88°C is sufficient. Use a KONO dripper to enhance its rich mouthfeel. The entry is bittersweet chocolate, with noticeable caramel sweetness, carrying some soft acidity.

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

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