Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee and Blue Mountain Flavor Coffee Beans: Characteristics and Stories - What Are the Features of Blue Mountain Coffee

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Blue Mountain: The World-Renowned Coffee

Blue Mountain coffee, famous worldwide and highly sought after, comes from the Typica family.

The Blue Mountain Range is located in the eastern part of Jamaica. The mountain gets its name because when the weather is clear, the sun shines directly on the azure Caribbean Sea, and the peak reflects the brilliant blue light of the seawater. The highest peak of Blue Mountain reaches an elevation of 2,256 meters, making it the highest peak in the Caribbean region and a famous tourist destination. This area is located in the coffee belt, with fertile volcanic soil, fresh air, no pollution, humid climate, and year-round fog and rain (average rainfall of 1,980 mm, temperature around 27°C). Such climate conditions have created the world-renowned Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, as well as the world's highest-priced coffee.

This coffee possesses all the characteristics of fine coffee. Not only is it rich and mellow in flavor, but because the coffee's sweetness, acidity, and bitterness are perfectly balanced, it has no bitter taste at all, only a moderate and perfect acidity. It's generally consumed as a single-origin coffee, but due to its extremely limited production and incredibly high price, coffees with similar flavors are typically used as substitutes in the market.

Distinguishing Blue Mountain from Blue Mountain-Flavored Coffee

Over 90% of Blue Mountain coffee is exported to Japan, so much of the "Blue Mountain coffee" sold in Chinese cafes is undoubtedly fake. The so-called "Blue Mountain Blend" actually has no connection to Blue Mountain coffee. This situation arose because early Blue Mountain coffee was rare and expensive, so operators created coffee with a flavor similar to Blue Mountain by mixing different beans with dark roasting. The beans in "Blue Mountain Blend" are mixed with varying shapes, making them relatively easy to identify. Also, don't believe in "premium Blue Mountain" costing tens of yuan per pound or "Blue Mountain coffee" costing over thirty yuan per cup. The landing price of Blue Mountain coffee generally needs to be around 1,000 yuan per kilogram, and with various profit margins added, the price is undoubtedly very expensive.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method

Siphon Coffee

Preparation Steps:

(1) Add water to the lower pot of the siphon. For making two servings of coffee, add water to about 5mm above the 2-cup mark on the siphon pot. Because the coffee grounds will absorb water, if you want to make two servings of coffee liquid, you need to add slightly more water.

(2) Grind the coffee beans, preparing 25 grams of coffee powder (about 15g for a single cup). Medium grind BG 6M (Chinese standard 20-mesh sieve, 47% pass rate), meaning particles between white sugar and brown sugar in size.

(3) After adding water, remember to wipe the outside of the lower pot dry with a soft cloth, leaving no water residue to prevent the pot from bursting during heating.

(4) Add hot water to the lower pot and heat with a gas stove. Generally, single-cup coffee uses about 180 grams of water, while double portion uses 300 grams (coffee-to-water ratio 1:12).

(5) Once the above steps are completed, start heating the water!

When the water is heated to brewing temperature, install the filter cloth in the upper pot. Be sure to hook it as shown in the picture below! Otherwise, when the water from the lower pot rushes to the upper pot, the filter will be pushed open.

Late Ground Addition: Richer Flavor Profile

Contrary to early ground addition, late ground addition means waiting until all the water from the lower pot has completely risen to the upper pot before adding the coffee grounds. Before adding the grounds late, we have ample time to reduce the heat source to just enough to support the upper pot's water without falling back. Then adjust the position of the lower filter screen to keep it centered, and finally wait a few minutes to let the water temperature drop slightly. When the water from the lower pot just rises to the upper pot, the temperature will be around 90-95°C, so we can let the water temperature drop by about 2-5 degrees before adding the coffee grounds.

(1) When the water temperature reaches 90°C, straighten the upper pot. When the water rises to the upper pot, pour in the coffee grounds, stir, and start timing. Stir in a circular motion, ensuring the coffee grounds fully absorb water.

(2) Adjust the heat to an appropriate level. After 30 seconds of steeping, perform a second stir.

(3) Perform a third stir at around 50 seconds. After stirring ends, remove the heat source and wipe the lower pot with a semi-dry cloth to let the coffee liquid flow back. Total time is about 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

Flavor Profile:

Freshly brewed siphon coffee is certainly very hot—of course, wait for it to cool slightly before tasting. The caramel flavor is very rich, the mouthfeel is fuller, but this doesn't affect its clean taste. The fruit acidity becomes more mellow and has a noticeable sweet aftertaste.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473