Why is Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee so expensive? What are the differences between Jamaican High Mountain and other Jamaican coffees?

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Introduction to Blue Mountain Coffee

As the world's most renowned Blue Mountain Coffee, its reputation is so prominent that it can be said to be the beginning for most people's understanding of the word "coffee." Especially in the Asian region, Blue Mountain Coffee was once widely recognized as the highest quality and most expensive coffee beans, thus earning the label of the most expensive coffee in history.

Authentic Blue Mountain No. 1 Price

The reason FrontStreet Coffee emphasizes authentic Blue Mountain No. 1 is that there are often "Blue Mountain style" blended coffees on the market. The so-called "Blue Mountain blend" actually has no connection to Blue Mountain - it typically uses other bean varieties roasted to mimic Blue Mountain's flavor profile. This situation exists because early Blue Mountain Coffee was rare and expensive, so operators created coffee close to Blue Mountain's taste by mixing beans with dark roasting based on Blue Mountain's flavor profile. Therefore, conscientious merchants in domestic and international markets will inform customers that these are comprehensive Blue Mountain, blended Blue Mountain, Blue Mountain style, or Blue Mountain-style coffee beans, not genuine Blue Mountain Coffee.

Before the millennium, drinking a cup of Blue Mountain black coffee in China cost dozens or even hundreds of yuan, which was extremely luxurious for the consumption level at that time, and it might not even be authentic. With the Jamaican government allocating more Blue Mountain quotas to various consumer markets, it's now much easier to drink a cup of genuine Blue Mountain in China. FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans are sold at 158 yuan/100g per package, and tasting at the Dongshankou store costs only 60 yuan/cup, approximately 200ml. The Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee purchased by FrontStreet Coffee comes from the historic Clifton Mountain Estate in Jamaica and is processed using the washed method.

Rarity Creates Value

The high quality of Blue Mountain Coffee is naturally inseparable from its cultivation environment advantages. The Blue Mountain Range is surrounded by Caribbean Sea waters, belonging to a unique island-style tropical rainforest microclimate. During rainy seasons, rainfall is concentrated with good drainage. Volcanic ash from active volcanoes enriches the soil with nutrients, so coffee trees require minimal irrigation and fertilization. With abundant year-round sunshine, surrounded by thin mist, the cool and comfortable high-altitude growing area is very suitable for various crops. Local people typically plant coffee trees alongside banana trees on the Blue Mountains.

CIB has designated an area of approximately 6,000 hectares within the Blue Mountain Range, strictly stipulating that only Typica coffee produced in this region can be called "Blue Mountain Coffee." Interestingly, although the Blue Mountain Range reaches over 2,000 meters in height, not the entire Blue Mountain area is suitable for coffee cultivation. First, the Jamaican government, for environmental protection, has closed areas above 1,700 meters to coffee cultivation; second, as altitude gradually increases, temperature gradually decreases, and at certain altitudes, frost may occur during colder periods, which could cause "burning" or even death of coffee trees.

Therefore, Blue Mountain Coffee is generally cultivated at altitudes below 1,700 meters. However, not all coffee beans grown within the Blue Mountain area can be called Blue Mountain Coffee beans. Jamaica roughly divides its domestically grown coffee into three grades: Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Coffee, and Jamaica Prime Coffee.

Among these, Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee beans are grown at altitudes above 1,000 meters and must be grown within the Jamaica Blue Mountain area. The Blue Mountain Coffee growing region spans four Jamaican administrative regions: St. Thomas, St. Mary, St. Andrew, and Portland, covering one-third of the entire Blue Mountain growing area.

Japanese Market "Monopoly"

The variety of Blue Mountain Coffee belongs to Typica. When grown in higher altitude environments, Typica's flavor characteristics become more prominent. Additionally, the Typica variety has poor disease resistance and is very susceptible to diseases, coupled with low fruit yield per plant, requiring more careful human attention. Furthermore, the high-altitude areas of Blue Mountain have uneven terrain, making management and harvesting very difficult, thus requiring highly skilled harvesters, which further affects yield. In recent years, less than 15% of coffee beans produced in Jamaica (approximately 900 tons) can carry the Blue Mountain Coffee label. After harvesting, coffee cherries are immediately transported to processing plants for washing, removal of coffee pulp, and drying.

Before the 1960s, Jamaican coffee beans were already very popular in the entire premium market. In 1969, Jamaica was severely affected by hurricane disasters, and multiple industries fell into difficulties, including the coffee industry. At this time, Japan's UCC company provided financial assistance to Jamaica's coffee industry and introduced scientific ecological cultivation methods. The Jamaican government, grateful for the help, signed a 30-year contract with Japan, agreeing to supply 90% of quality Blue Mountain Coffee quotas to Japan, with the remaining 10% allocated to European and American countries.

During this period, Blue Mountain Coffee was not completely consumed in the Japanese domestic market. They would sell some Blue Mountain Coffee at high prices to other Asian countries and regions. Coupled with increased promotional efforts by the Japanese, coffee enthusiasts from neighboring countries also began to pursue Blue Mountain Coffee, such as Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Since 2000, the "Blue Mountain craze" gradually spread to mainland China, leading to the phenomenon of high-priced and hard-to-find Blue Mountain Coffee.

In 2008, during the global economic crisis, Jamaica attempted to sell Blue Mountain Coffee to more countries, coinciding with the expiration of the agreement with Japan, allocating more Blue Mountain Coffee quotas to other countries. With the expansion of China's coffee market demand, many domestic merchants can now directly import Blue Mountain Coffee beans from Jamaica. This is why Blue Mountain Coffee is now cheaper to drink than before.

How High is the Grade of Blue Mountain No. 1?

CIB was the earliest institution to use scientific and objective methods to grade coffee quality, combining green bean size, color, uniformity, defect rate, moisture content, and cupping performance for grading.

Before export, Blue Mountain green beans are packed and sent for quality testing, graded according to size specifications and defect rate after processing: Blue Mountain No. 1, Blue Mountain No. 2, Blue Mountain No. 3, and Blue Mountain Peaberry. Bean size is determined using various aperture sieves - coffee beans that do not pass through the sieve openings meet the required specification standards. Top-grade Blue Mountain No. 1 green beans must meet specifications above 17 mesh, defect rate below 3%, moisture content around 13%, and exhibit rich coffee aroma, smooth and balanced taste, low acidity, and persistent aftertaste in cupping.

To ensure Blue Mountain Coffee beans maintain better quality until roasting and avoid moisture infiltration during transportation, Jamaicans insist on using handcrafted wooden barrels as carriers for Blue Mountain green beans. Wooden barrels have also become one of the important symbols of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy aims to present the most classic flavor profiles of coffee, such as the bright lemon citrus aroma of Yirgacheffe, the rich caramelized taste of Indonesian Mandheling Coffee, and naturally, Blue Mountain should highlight its classic Blue Mountain flavor. FrontStreet Coffee uses medium-dark roasting to maximize the presentation of chocolate and nutty aromas while preserving soft acidity and sweetness, creating an overall balanced taste.

How to Brew Authentic Blue Mountain No. 1 for Better Taste?

With the持续 popularity of coffee culture in China, you can now brew a fragrant and delicious cup of Blue Mountain Coffee at home without going to a coffee shop. Many friends consult FrontStreet Coffee on how to brew it better after purchasing Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans. Here, FrontStreet Coffee will explain the extraction approach based on how it's served in the store~

First, FrontStreet Coffee confirms the freshness of the coffee beans before brewing. If the roasting date is more than a month old, FrontStreet Coffee will choose fresher coffee beans. Since coffee beans have an optimal tasting period after roasting, and coffee aroma accelerates loss with storage time, it's difficult to present the original flavor during brewing. This is why FrontStreet Coffee insists on only shipping coffee roasted within 5 days - FrontStreet Coffee hopes every customer can enjoy the complete optimal tasting period of coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee considers that medium-dark roasted coffee has undergone a certain degree of roasting, making the internal structure of beans more porous than lightly roasted coffee, thus having better water absorption. To avoid over-extraction, FrontStreet Coffee chooses a grind size with 75% pass-through rate on No. 20 standard sieve, along with 88°C water temperature, paired with FrontStreet Coffee's customary three-stage pouring method.

When brewing coffee beans with bitter profiles, FrontStreet Coffee typically prioritizes using KONO drippers, aiming to highlight the rich body of the coffee. The upper part of KONO drippers allows better fit with filter paper. Compared to V60 drippers, the extraction method is mainly immersion-based, increasing the overall concentration of coffee to enhance its body. Similarly, KONO drippers are also suitable for brewing Brazil Queen Estate Coffee beans and Golden Mandheling Coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's brewing parameters for Blue Mountain No. 1 are:

Dripper: KONO dripper
Water temperature: 88°C
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Coffee grounds: 15g
Grind size: EK43s - setting 10.5 (75% pass-through rate on No. 20 standard sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee first wets the KONO dripper, then places aligned filter paper to fit better with the dripper. After pouring out the water from the sharing pot, add 15g of coffee grounds, bloom with 30g of water for 30s, then start pouring in small circular motions in the center until reaching 125g, wait until the coffee bed drops to half the dripper's height, then pour the second stage using the same technique until reaching 225g. Once all dripping is complete, remove the dripper.

Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee offers the sweet aroma of dark chocolate, caramel sweetness, and soft, elegant acidity. Each flavor is balanced, creating a smooth and rich taste with a very typical Blue Mountain flavor profile.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473