What Makes a Good Blue Mountain Coffee: Top Grade Blue Mountain Coffee Taste, Flavor Characteristics, and Price

Is Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee the Best Coffee in the World?

Almost everyone who has heard of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee knows it is among the most expensive coffees in the world, but not everyone knows why. Like Rolls-Royce cars and Stradivarius violins, when something earns a reputation as "the best in the world," that reputation tends to create its own legend and become an enduring myth.

The best Blue Mountain coffee is undoubtedly one of the finest coffees available. Although its price guarantees a steady supply, that price does not equally guarantee the best flavor. It is also worth noting that this coffee tastes more expensive than it looks: to taste its best, you have to use more beans than you would with other coffees, otherwise the flavor is somewhat unworthy of its name. The real cost of experiencing that flavor, then, lies in using 10%-15% more coffee beans than the next most expensive coffee.

True Blue Mountain is said to be made from the finest local green beans, which is where the connoisseur's pleasure lies. Its flavor is rich, balanced, fruity and acidic, satisfying a range of preferences. In addition, high-quality fresh Blue Mountain has a particularly lasting flavor—as wine drinkers would say, it leaves an endless aftertaste.

The Myth and History of Blue Mountain Coffee

It is worth understanding the mythology of Blue Mountain coffee carefully, because past images and today's reality are often inconsistent. In 1725, Sir Nicholas Lawes brought the first Blue Mountain coffee seeds from Martinique to Jamaica, planting them in the St. Andrew area. Today St. Andrew is still one of the three major Blue Mountain producing areas, the other two being Portland and St. Thomas. Within 8 years, Jamaica exported over 375 tons of pure coffee. In 1932, production peaked, with more than 15,000 tons harvested. But by 1948 quality had declined, and Canadian buyers refused to renew their contracts. For this reason the Jamaican government established the Coffee Industry Board to save the fate of top-quality coffee. By 1969 the situation had improved, as Japanese loans were used to enhance production quality and thereby secure the market. Even then, Japanese drinkers were willing to pay a premium for this coffee, and today it commands a status of fanatical devotion. By 1981 Jamaica had reclaimed about 1,500 hectares of land for coffee cultivation, followed by investment in developing another 6,000 hectares.

In fact, today's Blue Mountain region is a small place with only 6,000 hectares of planting area, and not all coffee labeled "Blue Mountain" is grown there. An additional 12,000 hectares are used to grow two other types of coffee that are not Blue Mountain: High Mountain Supreme and Prime Washed Jamaican.

The Unique Growing Conditions of Blue Mountain Coffee

True Blue Mountain coffee is one of the coffees grown under the most superior conditions in the world. Jamaica's weather, geological structure and topography together provide a uniquely ideal setting. The mountain ridge running across Jamaica extends to the eastern part of the small island, with the Blue Mountains reaching over 2,100 meters above sea level. The cool, foggy, rainy weather keeps this fertile land well balanced with moisture. Here people use mixed planting, growing coffee trees 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 the region are considered small-scale by international standards, and many are smallholders whose families have worked this land for two centuries.

Jamaica's coffee industry faces a series of problems, such as the impact of hurricanes, rising labor costs and the difficulty of mechanizing terrace operations. Many small estates and farms find it hard to rationalize cultivation. Nonetheless, Blue Mountain coffee is one that reputable retailers will stock regardless of circumstances. A major British retailer said that whatever the price, he will keep selling Blue Mountain coffee throughout the year, because he has many customers who recognize only "Blue Mountain."

The Global Market for Blue Mountain Coffee

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

What sets Blue Mountain apart in transportation is that it is shipped in 70-kilogram wooden barrels, replicas of the Bonifieur wooden barrels produced on Guadeloupe Island last century. These barrels were originally used to transport flour from England to Jamaica and usually carry trademark and manufacturer names. The Coffee Industry Board issues certificates for all pure Jamaican coffee and stamps them with approval before export.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If there is one bottle of Blue Mountain worth starting with, it is FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1. It is the highest grade of Jamaican Blue Mountain, and FrontStreet's lot comes from the historic Clifton Estate, which has been growing and processing coffee since around 1750. The farm sits at an average of 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters), where ample altitude, gentle afternoon cloud cover, generous sunshine and mineral-rich soil give the trees an ideal, slow ripening cycle.

Blue Mountain is a Typica variety, and FrontStreet roasts it medium-dark to draw out the variety's classic balance. In the cup you get hazelnut, cream, chocolate and caramel unfolding in layers, with soft acidity and sweetness in step with each other, no single note dominating and a long, clean finish. It is the kind of coffee that is easy for almost anyone to like, and just as convincing as a gift.

Blue Mountain is balanced enough to be forgiving in brewing, but a pour-over shows it off best. FrontStreet suggests a KONO dripper, a 1:15 ratio with 15g of coffee, and 87-88°C water, poured in three stages: a 30g bloom for 30 seconds, then water to 120g, a short pause, and a final pour to 225g. That method keeps the creamy, caramel and nutty sweetness front and center while preserving the soft, bright acidity.