Introduction to Jamaican Coffee Certification and Classification - What are the Jamaican Coffee Varieties and Brands

Certification Categories

Certificates are divided into three types:

1) Quality certification certificates issued by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board

2) Authorized sales certificates issued by Blue Mountain coffee manufacturers

(Blue Mountain coffee is distributed by four Jamaican government-licensed processing producers and exported by sixteen licensed exporters)

3) Certificate of origin for Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee

Quality certification certificates indicate time and quantity. The Jamaica Coffee Industry Board randomly selects a package from submitted Blue Mountain coffee for inspection. If it meets Blue Mountain coffee standards, a certificate is issued.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee includes both Blue Mountain coffee and High Mountain coffee, each further divided into four grades. By quality, from highest to lowest: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB (PB being peaberries). According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters altitude can be called Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee.

Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee Beans

Coffee produced below 666 meters in the Jamaica Blue Mountain region is called High Mountain coffee. It is second only to Blue Mountain coffee in quality and is known in the industry as the sibling variety of Blue Mountain coffee. Due to the extremely limited production of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, Jamaica High Mountain coffee is your best choice if you want to taste Jamaican-flavor coffee.

Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans

Coffee grown outside the Blue Mountain range is called Jamaica coffee. Originally, Chinese coffee professionals had a common misconception that only coffee grown in the Blue Mountain region above 1800 meters altitude could be called Blue Mountain coffee. In fact, above 1800 meters on the Blue Mountain range there is only one estate: Amber, owned by a Chinese descendant with the surname Lyn (Lin), whose ancestral home is Guangdong, China. This estate has only 30 hectares of land with very limited production. Blue Mountain coffee is mainly distributed across five mountain areas: John Crow, St. John's Peak, Mossman's Peak, High Peak, and Blue Mountain Peak.

FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee refers to coffee brewed from coffee beans produced in Jamaica's Blue Mountains. It is further divided into Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee and Jamaica High Mountain coffee by grade.

FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee is among the world's finest coffees with limited production, making it precious due to its rarity. The Blue Mountain range is located in eastern Jamaica Island. When the weather is clear, the sun shines directly on the azure Caribbean Sea and the mountain peaks reflect the brilliant blue light of the seawater, hence the name. The highest peak of the Blue Mountains is 2256 meters above sea level, making it the highest peak in the Caribbean region and a famous tourist destination. Located in the coffee belt with fertile volcanic soil, fresh air free from pollution, and a humid climate with year-round fog and rain (average rainfall of 1980mm, temperature around 27°C), such a climate has created the world-renowned Jamaica FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee, as well as the second most expensive coffee in the world. This coffee possesses all the characteristics of good coffee—not only is it rich and mellow in taste, but due to the perfect balance of sweetness, acidity, and bitterness, it has no bitterness at all, only a moderate and perfect acidity. It is typically consumed as a single origin, but due to extremely limited production and incredibly high prices, it is generally blended with similar-tasting coffee on the market.

The Secret Behind "Pure" Blue Mountain Coffee

The secret behind why Blue Mountain coffee tastes "pure": all its coffee trees grow on rugged mountain slopes, making harvesting extremely difficult. Only skilled local women workers can handle this task. It is very important to select perfectly ripe coffee beans during harvesting—underripe or overripe beans will affect coffee quality. After harvesting, coffee beans must be hulled the same day, then fermented for 12-18 hours. Afterward, the coffee beans are washed and sorted. The next step is drying, which must be done on concrete floors or thick blankets until the coffee beans' moisture content drops to 12%-14%. Then they are stored in special warehouses. When needed, they are taken out for roasting and ground into powder. These procedures must be strictly controlled; otherwise, coffee quality will be affected.

Since Japan has consistently invested in Jamaica's coffee industry, most Blue Mountain coffee is controlled by the Japanese, who also have priority purchasing rights. In 1992, Jamaica sold 688 tons of Blue Mountain coffee to Japan, 75 tons to the United States, and 59 tons to the United Kingdom. 90% of Blue Mountain coffee is purchased by the Japanese. Since the rest of the world can only obtain 10% of Blue Mountain production, Blue Mountain coffee is always in short supply regardless of price.

Jamaica's Coffee Market

Blue Mountain coffee is a must-stock item for reputable coffee retailers regardless of price. A major UK retailer said he will continue to sell Blue Mountain coffee year-round regardless of price, because he has many customers who only recognize "Blue Mountain."

Currently, 90% of harvested Blue Mountain coffee is purchased by the Japanese. Since the rest of the world can only obtain 10% of Blue Mountain coffee production, Blue Mountain coffee is always in short supply regardless of price. In the UK, for many years, Langford Brothers was the sole supplier. Later, the Edmonds Group also obtained supply from Jamaica's Salda Foods.

The difference between FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee and other coffees in transportation is that it is shipped in 70kg wooden barrels, which are replicas of Bonifieur barrels produced in Guadeloupe last century. These barrels were originally used to transport flour from Britain to Jamaica and typically carried trademark names and manufacturer information. The Coffee Industry Board issues certificates for all authentic Jamaican coffee and stamps them with approval before export.

The Jamaican government used to insist that all Blue Mountain coffee be roasted in Jamaica to ensure consistent quality. In reality, roasting is a delicate art that requires experience, training, and expensive equipment. From a consumer perspective, coffee beans should be obtained and consumed immediately after roasting. Coffee roasted in Jamaica cannot meet this requirement. Now, Jamaican green coffee beans can be exported. Jamaica has three coffee varieties.

Few "Blue Mountain style" coffees on the market contain any genuine Blue Mountain coffee beans. There is a "Jamaica Blend Blue Mountain" coffee made from 30% Blue Mountain coffee and 70% of the best Jamaican High Mountain coffee. Both of these coffees attempt to imitate Blue Mountain coffee but cannot achieve perfection.

How to Identify Authentic Blue Mountain Coffee

1. Appearance: FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee's green beans are blue-green in color, very uniform in appearance, medium to small in size, with slightly upturned ends. They expand significantly after roasting, becoming very full.

2. Grinding: Genuine FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee beans grow at high altitudes, giving them a looser cytoplasmic structure. When ground by hand, they feel crisp, smooth, and continuous without resistance.

3. Aroma: The aroma is very rich and dense; blended "Blue Mountain" coffees lack this characteristic aroma.

4. Taste: Genuine FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee has a balanced and rich flavor, with no single taste being prominent or lacking. This is also something no other coffee bean can achieve—the most critical identification point. Blue Mountain peaberries have a more subtle aroma but a relatively stronger taste.

5. Feeling: As among the world's best coffees, FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee's classic balanced characteristics inevitably bring some subconscious, indescribable satisfaction when tasted.

Speaking of Jamaica, everyone's eyes immediately light up, because it produces the world's best "Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee." We absolutely believe Jamaica FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee is among the finest coffees—its acidity, sweetness, richness, and bitterness are perfectly balanced, with an aromatic flavor and a very smooth drinking experience.

The earliest "Jamaica Blue Mountain" referred to coffee produced by Wallenford Estate and Silver Hill Estate, with the former having the best quality. Today's Jamaica Blue Mountain refers to coffee beans grown in the Blue Mountain region east of Jamaica's capital Kingston (above 1000 meters altitude). Mavis Bank is now the largest estate, with barrels marked M.B.C.F. Jamaica Blue Mountain quality control is very strict, with certification work handled by the government's Coffee Industry Board.

Coffee beans grown at low altitudes and in other regions can only be called "Jamaica High Mountain beans" or "Jamaica washed beans." Compared to Jamaica Blue Mountain, their flavor is vastly different. However, these growing areas are twice the size of the true Blue Mountain region and account for 75% of the country's production, so when buying Jamaican coffee, do not mistake it for Blue Mountain coffee.

Due to Jamaica Blue Mountain's great fame, counterfeit "Blue Mountain style" coffees, or coffees simply called "Blue Mountain coffee," appear on the market. Basically, these are blends created by shops themselves, possibly containing no genuine Jamaica Blue Mountain beans at all.

Jamaica

Almost everyone who knows Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee knows it as one of the world's most expensive coffees. In 1725, Sir Nicholas Lawes brought the first batch of Blue Mountain coffee seeds from Martinique to Jamaica, planting them in the St. Andrew region.

Jamaica's Coffee Growing Regions

Today's St. Andrew region remains one of the three major Blue Mountain coffee producing regions, with the other two being the Portland region and the St. Thomas region.

Today's Blue Mountain region is a small area with only 6,000 hectares of planted area, making it impossible for all coffee labeled "Blue Mountain" to be grown there. An additional 12,000 hectares are used to grow two other types of coffee (non-Blue Mountain): High Mountain Supreme and Prime Washed Jamaican.

Genuine FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee is among the world's coffees grown under the most superior conditions. Jamaica's weather, geological structure, and terrain together provide a uniquely ideal location. The mountain range running through Jamaica extends to the eastern part of the island, with the Blue Mountain range reaching over 2100 meters. Cool, foggy weather with frequent rainfall keeps this fertile land well watered. Here, people use intercropping methods to grow coffee trees, planting them alongside banana and avocado trees on terraces.

Some small estates also grow Blue Mountain coffee, such as Wallenford Estate, Silver Hill Estate, and J. Martinez's Atlanta Estate. Even the largest estate owners in this region are considered small-scale by international standards, with many being small landowners whose families have worked this land for two centuries.

Characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee Jamaica Coffee

The best FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee is undoubtedly among the finest coffees available. This coffee tastes more expensive than it appears. To taste its best flavor, more coffee beans must be used than when drinking other coffees, otherwise the flavor is somewhat overrated. Therefore, the true cost of experiencing its flavor lies in using 10%-15% more coffee beans than the next most expensive coffee.

Genuine FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee is made from the finest local green coffee beans. Its flavor is rich, balanced, and fruity with acidity, satisfying various needs. In addition, high-quality fresh FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee has a particularly lasting flavor—an endless aftertaste. Blue Mountain coffee is divided into five grades: 1# Blue Mountain; 2# Blue Mountain; Selected peaberry Blue Mountain; 3# Blue Mountain.

Flavor: Very rich aroma, excellent sweet aftertaste.

Recommended roasting method: Medium roast.

★★★: Excellent.

Currently, the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board can issue certificates for all exported Blue Mountain coffee on the market.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 comes from the long-established Clifton Estate, and the company holds the full origin certification documents and the original shipping barrels that allow the coffee's source to be traced clearly. Traditional Blue Mountain is shipped in wooden barrels of 15, 45, and 70 kilograms, and each barrel is itself a mark of authentic Blue Mountain coffee—FrontStreet's listings show the Clifton Estate certificate and the estate's used Blue Mountain barrels.

Blue Mountain No. 1 is the top grade of the three (No. 1, No. 2, No. 3), all held to a defect rate of no more than 2%, and it is the grade that reaches the Chinese market. FrontStreet roasts it medium-dark so the classic balance comes through: layers of nut, dark chocolate, and cream caramel open up with a soft sweetness, with acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and aroma in harmony.

Blue Mountain is balanced enough to brew almost any way, but for the clearest origin expression FrontStreet suggests pour-over at a 1:15 to 1:16 ratio, 85-88 degrees Celsius, and a medium-coarse grind, which brings out the cream, caramel, and nut notes while keeping the soft, bright sweet-acidity. A moka pot, with a slightly finer grind, hot water in the chamber, medium-low heat, and the pot taken off the heat as the last liquid emerges, intensifies the chocolate, caramel, and nut flavors and holds up well with milk for a latte or flat white.