How to Drink Blue Mountain Coffee Without Bitterness? Can You Add Sugar and Milk to Blue Mountain Black Coffee?

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Hand-brewed FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee exhibits distinct flavors of dark chocolate, nuts, and caramel, with low fruit acidity and a remarkably rich body, featuring a pronounced almond aftertaste. As the temperature decreases, roasted hazelnut and creamy sweet silkiness emerge, accompanied by subtle bitterness and caramel sweetness. The aroma lingers persistently in the mouth with almost no astringency. Of course, for those who enjoy milk coffee, you can also add 50-100g of milk to hand-brewed FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain black coffee to balance its richness and create a more layered complexity.

FrontStreet Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Beans

Origin: Jamaica, Blue Mountain, Clifton Estate

Altitude: 1300 meters

Variety: Typica

Processing Method: Washed processing

The History of Jamaica Coffee

Jamaica's coffee history dates back to the 18th century. In 1717, French King Louis XV ordered coffee cultivation in Jamaica. In the mid-1720s, Jamaica's Governor Sir Nicholas Lawes imported Arabica seeds from Martinique and began promoting cultivation in the St. Andrew area. Coffee trees were introduced to Jamaica and planted in the Blue Mountains, which were divided into high-altitude Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, High Mountain coffee, and Jamaica coffee, with different grades determining different prices.

The Blue Mountain Range is located in eastern Jamaica. Surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, on clear sunny days when sunlight directly hits the azure sea surface, the peaks reflect the brilliant blue glow of the seawater, hence the name. The highest peak of Blue Mountain reaches 2256 meters (only below 1700m can coffee be cultivated, with above being protected forest), 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 without pollution, humid climate with year-round fog and rain, and average precipitation of 1980mm, temperatures around 27°C, such climate conditions have created the world-renowned Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, as well as the world's highest-priced coffee.

The Jamaican Coffee Industry Board (CIB) officially designates regions where Typica variety coffee grown at altitudes between 910-1700 meters can be called authentic "Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee." The Blue Mountain coffee on FrontStreet Coffee's (FrontStreet Coffee) bean list grows at 1310 meters, comes from Clifton Estate, uses traditional washed processing, and is specially selected from the highest grade Blue Mountain No. 1 in terms of quality.

Authentic Blue Mountain coffee currently on the market all uses washed processing. After hand-picking coffee cherries, preliminary screening is conducted to remove unripe and overripe cherries before pulping, ensuring completion within 12 hours. Traditional washed fermentation is then implemented, followed by sun-drying on concrete platforms. Extended slow sun-drying enhances coffee flavor. Drying continues until moisture content reaches 11%-13%, after which beans are bagged and placed in warehouses for resting and maturation. Warehouse temperature is controlled at 24-25°C Celsius with dehumidifiers controlling humidity. Only after 2-3 months of stable flavor maturation are they shipped.

When customers place orders, small batches undergo low-temperature hulling, polishing, and removal of silver skin dust, with manual sorting of defective beans such as broken, abnormally colored, or mold-infected ones. Each skilled worker can only sort about 75 pounds of green beans per day. Coffee beans are transported between workstations in wooden basins to avoid breakage or other processing defects. After completion, they are sealed in Jamaica Blue Mountain's unique wooden barrel packaging. The Jamaican Coffee Industry Board (CIB) Regulatory Section inspects each batch of coffee before air export to ensure flavor meets standards.

FrontStreet Coffee Clifton Estate Blue Mountain Coffee

The Blue Mountain Range is located in eastern Jamaica. Surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, on clear sunny days when sunlight directly hits the azure sea surface, the peaks reflect the brilliant blue glow of the seawater, hence the name. The delicate fragrance and sweet notes of Jamaican Blue Mountain, with a mellow taste like fine wine, have always been a favorite among Japanese coffee connoisseurs. Its rare production makes it representative of premium coffee.

However, not all coffee produced in Jamaica can bear the Blue Mountain label. In 1953, the Jamaican government established the Coffee Industry Board (CIB) to promote the improvement of Jamaican coffee quality. Jamaica was the first country to register coffee production regions as trademarks. All exports from Jamaica must be certified by the CIB, and only coffee produced in specific Blue Mountain administrative regions at certain altitudes can obtain Blue Mountain certification.

Since 1790 (mid-18th century), Clifton Mount Estate began cultivating Blue Mountain coffee, all of Typica variety. It is one of the highest altitude and oldest coffee estates in the entire Blue Mountain region, as well as the only single-estate Blue Mountain coffee with Rainforest Alliance certification. Sufficient altitude, gentle afternoon clouds and mist surrounding the mountain forests for shade, adequate sunlight, and mineral-rich planting soil provide excellent growing conditions for coffee trees.

Rainforest Alliance Certification Represents Compliance With:

1. Less water pollution

2. Less soil erosion

3. Reduced impact on environment and human health

4. Protection of wildlife habitats

5. Less waste

6. Less water usage

7. Efficient farm management mechanisms

8. Protection of agricultural workers' rights and welfare

9. Protection of agricultural workers' income and competitiveness

10. Enhanced cooperation between agricultural workers and environmentalists.

What Grade is FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain No. 1?

Compared to other coffee origins, Jamaica was the first country to recognize coffee's "terroir." Local standards for evaluating Blue Mountain green bean quality cover multiple categories: bean size, defect rate, color, uniformity, and cupping performance after roasting (including dry aroma, wet aroma, acidity, flavor, body, cleanliness, etc.).

Bean specifications use various sieves of different aperture sizes - coffee beans that do not pass through the holes meet the used standard. Color evaluation includes visual observation and colorimeter readings, with blue-green being the highest grade. Combining these standards, Blue Mountain coffee is divided into 4 grades, from highest to lowest: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, PB, and blend. NO.1 is the highest grade premium Blue Mountain, known domestically as "Blue Mountain No. 1." Blue Mountain No. 1 must meet specifications of 17 mesh or larger, defect rate below 3%, moisture content around 13%, and exhibit rich coffee aroma, smooth and balanced taste, low acidity, and persistent aftertaste in cupping.

For roasting, the CIB also provides recommendations for roasting levels to achieve Blue Mountain's classic flavor, which FrontStreet Coffee's roasters follow. Using medium roast allows Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee to present both rich chocolate sweetness while retaining appropriate soft fruit acidity.

Can Blue Mountain No. 1 Be Made as Black Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee aims to highlight the rich and round mouthfeel of Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee, using the KONO coffee filter for extraction. The KONO's ribs don't reach half the filter's height - this design actually ensures the filter paper adheres closely to the filter wall after wetting, restricting airflow. This increases water absorption time for coffee particles, resulting in more uniform extraction.

Brewing Parameters:

15g coffee grounds, coffee-to-water ratio 1:15, grind size: EK43s setting 10.5 (75% pass-through rate with China #20 standard sieve), water temperature: 87-88°C, brewing method: segmented extraction.

Place filter paper in the KONO filter, pour water to wet the filter paper and make it fit better. Pour in coffee grounds, tap gently to distribute the powder layer evenly. For the first segment, gently inject 30g of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds. For the second segment, inject water to about 125g, circling evenly and steadily outward. Then wait for the coffee liquid to drop - when it drops to half, inject the final segment of water to 225g. Wait for all coffee to finish dripping, with total extraction time generally around 2 minutes.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473