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Which is the World's Finest Specialty Coffee? Flavor and Taste Differences Between Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style) [Blue Mountain Coffee] Introduction Blue Mountain Coffee is the world's most superior coffee. The Blue Mountains are located in eastern Jamaica, and because the mountain is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, whenever the weather is clear, the sun shines directly

Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

For more premium coffee beans, please add the personal WeChat of FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID: qjcoffeex.

Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee both come from the Blue Mountain range on the island of Jamaica. Although they originate from the same mountain range, Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are not the same coffee beans.

Blue Mountain Coffee specifically refers to coffee beans grown between 900-1700 meters above sea level in the Blue Mountain range, while High Mountain Coffee refers to coffee beans grown between 450-900 meters. Coffee beans grown below 450m are known as Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans.

Among them, Blue Mountain Coffee beans are further graded according to bean size.

Blue Mountain Coffee Bean Grades

Grade 1 Blue Mountain / Blue Mountain No. 1 - Premium quality, most expensive, largest beans, over 96% of beans must be size 17 screen, with defective beans not exceeding 2%.

Grade 2 Blue Mountain / Blue Mountain No. 2 - Over 96% of beans must be size 16 screen, with defective beans not exceeding 2%.

Grade 3 Blue Mountain / Blue Mountain No. 3 - Over 96% of beans must be size 15 screen, with defective beans not exceeding 2%.

How to Identify Authentic Blue Mountain Coffee?

Blue Mountain Coffee packaging is quite distinctive. It's not packaged in burlap bags, nor in high-barrier anti-degradation bags or vacuum packaging, but rather in wooden barrels - one of the few producing regions still using this method. The wooden barrel material undergoes special treatment to effectively balance between drying and moisture retention, ensuring that the green beans are not compressed and no foreign odors enter.

Wooden barrels stamped with official certification seals not only guarantee the quality of the green coffee beans during transportation, but the labor-intensive and time-consuming packaging method also demonstrates the premium quality of Blue Mountain Coffee, giving customers who have waited patiently greater satisfaction when they receive the green coffee beans. In Taiwan years ago, traders who finally obtained Blue Mountain green beans would even hold solemn barrel-opening ceremonies.

Additionally, the Jamaican government/origin issue certification certificates to prove the authenticity and grade of Blue Mountain Coffee beans. The Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee sourced by FrontStreet Coffee comes from Clifton Estate, an export company designated by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board. The wooden barrels containing the green coffee beans feature English printed text from Clifton Estate and a green tree frog logo. At FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) stores, you can see the coffee wooden barrels and the certification certificate from Clifton Estate.

The basic standards for Blue Mountain No. 1 green coffee beans sourced by FrontStreet Coffee are: beans of size 17 screen or larger, defect rate below 2%, moisture content around 13%, appearing as plump, uniform-sized, blue-green green beans. In terms of flavor, it simultaneously delivers pleasant acidity, sweetness, bitterness, aroma, and richness.

Blue Mountain Coffee Brewing Recommendations

Blue Mountain Coffee may not be the best-tasting coffee in the world, but it is definitely the most balanced in overall flavor profile. To highlight the smooth, mellow characteristics and robust, rich coffee flavor profile of Blue Mountain Coffee, FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) roasts the beans to a medium-dark level. When brewing Blue Mountain Coffee sold by FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee), the water temperature doesn't need to be too high - around 88-89°C is sufficient! The grind shouldn't be too fine either - grinding to the size of coarse sugar is perfect (70% pass-through rate with China No. 20 standard sieve). For brewing equipment, FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) chooses a Kono dripper with shorter ribs because it can extend the extraction time.

Kono dripper, 88°C water temperature, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, 15g coffee dose, medium grind (70% pass-through rate with No. 20 standard sieve), combined with three-pour extraction method. The first pour injects 30g of water for blooming, with a bloom time of 30 seconds. The second pour injects water to about 125g, then wait for the coffee liquid to drop. When it drops to half, inject the final pour of water to reach 225g. End the extraction after all the coffee has filtered through. The total extraction time is typically around 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee flavor profile: Rich black chocolate and nut flavors, creamy smooth texture, with balanced acidity, sweetness, and bitterness.