What are the characteristics of the world's most expensive coffee, Jamaica Blue Mountain? Introduction to Blue Mountain Coffee Estates

Jamaica's coffee supervision and requirements operate under the strictest system, making Blue Mountain Coffee one of the world's renowned specialty coffees sought after by many. FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee comes from Clifton Mount Estate, characterized by a balanced profile of acidity, sweetness, and bitterness. This FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain bean has been sold at FrontStreet Coffee for many years and remains one of the most highly regarded coffees. Because so many people are deeply influenced by Blue Mountain flavored coffee but don't know how to distinguish FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee, and many customers visiting FrontStreet Coffee stores ask what truly constitutes FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee. The answer is simple—it's all written in this article. Follow FrontStreet Coffee to understand, and you'll get it!

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee History

Jamaica's coffee history can be traced back to the 18th century. In 1717, King Louis XV of France 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 region. Coffee trees were introduced to Jamaica and planted in the Blue Mountains, which were divided into different grades: high-altitude Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, High Mountain Coffee, and Jamaica Coffee, with different grades determining different prices.

The Blue Mountains are located in eastern Jamaica. When the weather is clear, the sun shines directly on the azure Caribbean Sea, and the peaks reflect the brilliant blue light of the seawater, hence the name. The highest peak of the Blue Mountains reaches 2,256 meters (coffee can only be grown below 1,700m, above is protected forest), making it the highest peak in the Caribbean region and a famous tourist destination. Located in the coffee belt, this area has fertile volcanic soil, fresh and unpolluted air, humid climate with frequent fog and rain year-round, with average precipitation of 1,980mm and temperature around 27°C. Such climate conditions have created the world-renowned Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, as well as one of the world's highest-priced coffees.

What truly made Blue Mountain Coffee world-class originated from a plan in the 1950s, when the Jamaican government designated a coffee revitalization plan and established the CIB (Coffee Industry Board) to manage coffee production affairs. Through CIB's strict regulations, the coffee grades in the Blue Mountain region were clearly distinguished. The best coffee beans are Blue Mountain No. 1, which can only come from the core Blue Mountain area because the altitude here is above 900 meters, the highest in the Blue Mountain region. High altitude enhances the flavor expression of coffee.

All coffee varieties grown in the Blue Mountain region are Typica, all processed using the washed method, which makes the quality of Blue Mountain coffee beans excellent. (Coffee beans processed using the natural method during the same period had more defects). Only coffee beans of size 17 or larger from this area can be called Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans.

Authentic FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee currently circulating in the market all uses the washed processing method. After manually harvesting coffee cherries, preliminary screening is performed to remove unripe and overripe coffee cherries before depulping, ensuring completion within 12 hours. Traditional washed fermentation is then implemented, followed by transfer to concrete patios for sun drying. Long-term slow sun drying enhances coffee flavor. The coffee is air-dried until moisture content reaches 11%-13%, then bagged and placed in warehouses for resting and maturation. Warehouse temperature is controlled at 24-25°C with dehumidifiers controlling humidity. Only after 2-3 months of stable flavor maturation is the coffee shipped.

When customers place orders, small batches are processed at low temperature for hulling, polishing, and blowing away silver skin dust. Defective beans such as broken, discolored, or mold-infected ones are manually screened out. Each skilled worker can only select about 75 pounds of green beans per day. Coffee green beans are transported between workstations in wooden basins to avoid fragmentation or other processing defects. After completion, they are sealed in Jamaica Blue Mountain's unique wooden barrels. The Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica (CIB) Regulatory Section inspects each batch of coffee flavor before air export to ensure it meets standards.

With significant changes in the coffee market over the past decade, the Blue Mountain production landscape has also been affected. In 2020, Blue Mountain unprecedentedly launched a natural processed version of Blue Mountain Coffee, breaking the tradition of only washed processed versions. Of course, today's high-precision natural processing can also achieve few defects and high quality, with flavors distinct from washed processing. FrontStreet Coffee's naturally processed Blue Mountain coffee beans have a more pronounced sweetness.

In addition to attempts to change processing methods, in 2020, micro-batch FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Geisha coffee beans were also launched. This batch of Geisha was cultivated with guidance from the famous Hartmann family of Panama, hired by Jamaica. FrontStreet Coffee also imported a 15kg barrel in 2020 to try it out, which had quite distinct Geisha flavors—citrus and honey pomelo sweet and sour notes, jasmine floral aroma, and honey sweetness.

Famous Estates Producing Blue Mountain Coffee in Jamaica

Jamaica's Blue Mountain Four Great Estates include Clifton Mount Estate, Stoney Grove Estate, Golden Hill Estate, and RWS Coffee Estate. Among them, Stoney Grove Estate mainly cooperates with Japanese companies and is not well-known domestically, with only 80 years of estate history. Golden Hill Estate has an even shorter development history of only 20 years, but it actually merged two century-old estates and operates with more advanced management techniques. RWS Coffee Estate merged three century-old estates, also aimed at the stable development of Blue Mountain Coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee beans use Clifton Mount Estate, which has 200 years of history and is also the only estate in the entire Blue Mountain area with "Rainforest Alliance" certification.

Clifton Mount Estate's Blue Mountain production history can be traced to the mid-18th century (around 1750), managed by the current Sharp family since 1978. Clifton Mount Estate is located on the scenic Clifton Mountain, with coffee cultivation and green bean processing facilities situated at an average altitude of 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters). Sufficient altitude, daytime mist, ample sunlight, rainfall, and mineral-rich planting soil provide excellent growing conditions for coffee trees and slow down the maturation time of coffee cherries, allowing fruits ample time to form more aromatic compounds. Coffee grows on rugged mountain slopes, making harvesting extremely difficult. During the spring harvest season each year, the Sharp family arranges skilled workers to manually harvest appropriately ripe coffee fruits on the mountain.

After the Sharp family took over Clifton Mount Estate, they started by transforming the wild and messy jungle within the farm, then introduced various processing equipment, investing in the construction of solar power stations, sewage treatment plants, and BMCP processing plants. As the only coffee estate with "Rainforest Alliance" certification, all aspects of the estate adhere to environmental concepts. Water used for green bean processing is used for agricultural irrigation, and the removed pulp is fermented to make organic fertilizer for flower cultivation.

Clifton Mount Estate places harvested fresh fruits in water tanks, using flotation to separate ripe and unripe beans, then uses water flow in conveyor belts to send ripe coffee cherries for depulping. Coffee beans with mucilage and parchment are then placed in water tanks for fermentation. After mucilage fermentation, water flow agitation is used to remove mucilage residue, and clean coffee beans with parchment are dried. After reaching 11-12% moisture content, they are sent to the BMCP processing plant to rest for one month. This step is for coffee flavor maturation and stabilization of internal structure and water activity.

FrontStreet Coffee's Clifton Mount Estate Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Flavor Characteristics

The roasting process is equivalent to the cooking step in gastronomy. Quality ingredients combined with corresponding cooking techniques enhance the food's flavor. The ultimate goal of roasting is to obtain a delicious cup of coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy aims to present the most classic flavor profile of the growing region while highlighting the unique style of the beans, such as the bright lemon acidity of Yirgacheffe and the herbal, rich mouthfeel of Indonesian Mandheling coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee naturally also aims to highlight the classic Blue Mountain flavor. FrontStreet Coffee uses medium-dark roasting to maximally present the chocolate and nutty aromas in FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee while preserving soft acidity and sweetness, making the overall mouthfeel balanced.

After fresh roasting of FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee, FrontStreet Coffee immediately conducted cupping. The dry aroma had nuts, sweet melon, and chocolate. After adding hot water, aromas of oolong tea, caramel, honey, and dark chocolate were detected. The taste revealed rich dark chocolate, roasted hazelnuts, cream, and brown sugar, with clean and clear flavors, rich mouthfeel, and persistent aroma. To allow everyone to experience these aromas, FrontStreet Coffee ships coffee beans that are guaranteed to be freshly roasted within 5 days, so they arrive at the optimal tasting stage. Below, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss the key factors for pour-over FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee according to in-store production standards.

FrontStreet Coffee: Jamaica FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Beans

Farm: Clifton Mount Estate
Location: Newcastle region
Average Altitude: 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters)
Processing Method: Washed
Variety: 100% Arabica Typica

FrontStreet Coffee Barista's Pour-over Suggestions

If you want to taste the best flavor of FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee, it's best to use freshly roasted coffee beans, as this preserves flavor better. Using a KONO dripper can better extract full, balanced flavors and mouthfeel.

Use 15g of coffee, coarse grind (75% pass-through rate on #20 sieve), ratio of 1:15, water temperature at 86-88°C.

Segmented Brewing:

1. First pour 30g of water, bloom for 30 seconds.

2. After blooming, pour the second segment of water, pouring 100g in a circular motion from center outward. This pour can be slow—FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee is very extraction-resistant and requires sufficient pouring time to extract its aromas. Wait for the water level to drop by half after pouring.

3. When the coffee bed is about to be exposed, pour the third segment of 95g water, total water amount 225g. Wait for the coffee to finish filtering, then remove the dripper. Total brewing time is 1 minute 50 seconds.

FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Flavor Profile: Nuts, chocolate, balanced sweet-sour-bitter, creamy rich mouthfeel.

With the spread and development of coffee culture, more and more specialty coffee shops are no longer limited to pour-over extraction but are using more sophisticated methods to "squeeze out" the flavors of high-quality coffee beans. SOE (Single Origin Espresso), which has frequently appeared in recent years, is one of the representatives. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will use the FrontStreet Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans introduced today as an example to briefly discuss how to extract a delicious Blue Mountain SOE coffee.

Step 1: Choose a grind size and extract a shot

To make Blue Mountain SOE coffee, we first apply the espresso extraction formula: 1:2 coffee-to-liquid ratio, time 25-30 seconds. The amount of coffee depends on the basket capacity. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's basket has a reasonable capacity of 20g, so we extract 40g of coffee liquid from 20g of coffee grounds, with time controlled at 25-30 seconds as the extraction plan. Then we first select a grind size that looks visually appropriate for extraction, using the time difference to determine how much the grind setting needs adjustment.

Before extraction, we need to wipe the basket dry, turn on the grinder, grind double-shot coffee grounds, place them on an electronic scale to measure and adjust until reaching 20 grams. Then use a distributor to level the coffee grounds, and apply vertical downward pressure with a tamper to compact the coffee puck, ensuring more stable coffee extraction.

Step 2: Adjust parameters to control time within the extraction formula range

Here we mainly adjust grind size: If flow rate is fast and time is shorter than last time, grind the coffee finer. If flow rate is slow and time is longer than last time, grind the coffee coarser. Adjusting the grind setting relies heavily on feel—with more practice, you'll become familiar with the grinder and be able to get it right in one go. If the time difference from target is less than 5 seconds, you can adjust by 0.2 increments each time. If the time difference is too large, you can be bolder, adjusting by 0.5-1 increments. Even if you go from too long to too short extraction time, you can lock in this grind setting range and gradually narrow it down.

Step 3: Taste the espresso directly and make it into Blue Mountain Americano or Blue Mountain Latte

Freshly made Blue Mountain espresso has thick, beautiful crema. When brought close to the nose, one can immediately smell caramel biscuits, toasted spices, and dark chocolate. When taking the first sip, our taste buds are instantly stimulated by the bitterness and overly intense flavor from the upper Crema layer. However, when swallowing and immediately closing the mouth to breathe, the bitterness dissipates, and soon the mouth returns with a faint coffee aroma and a pleasant sweet aftertaste.

If you can't accept the intense bitterness of espresso, you can also add ice water or warm water in a 1:4 ratio according to your preference to create a refreshing and mellow SOE Blue Mountain Americano, or add steamed fresh milk in a 1:6 ratio to soften the texture, making it a delicious SOE Blue Mountain Latte.

Professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of FrontStreet Coffee, WeChat ID: qjcoffeex

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