What is Kenya Blue Mountain Coffee: A Guide to Kenya Coffee Beans

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FrontStreet Coffee — Introduction to FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Coffee and Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

Both Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are each divided into four grades. Ranked by quality from highest to lowest: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB (PB refers to peaberries). According to CIB standards, only coffee grown at altitudes above 666 meters can be called Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. The supreme among coffee treasures, coffee produced in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica at approximately 2000-2256m elevation, due to its location on treacherous mountainsides, has limited production, large beans, excellent quality, and balanced flavor. It simultaneously possesses appropriate acidity, bitterness, aroma, richness, and sweetness, making it the world's recognized supreme coffee. Therefore, the price of National Treasure Blue Mountain No.1 is the highest among all Blue Mountain coffees.

Authentic Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee comes with certificate authentication: The Jamaican government previously insisted that all Blue Mountain Coffee should be roasted in Jamaica to ensure consistent quality. In reality, roasting is a refined art that requires experience, training, and expensive equipment. From a consumer's perspective, coffee beans should be obtained and consumed immediately after roasting. Coffee roasted in Jamaica cannot meet this requirement. Now, Jamaica's raw coffee beans can be exported.

Currently, the Jamaica Coffee Board can issue certificates for all exported Blue Mountain Coffee.

There are three types of certificates: (1) Quality certificate issued by the Jamaica Coffee Board (2) Authorized sales certificate issued by Blue Mountain Coffee manufacturers (3) Certificate of origin for Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee.

Kenya Coffee Growing Regions

Kenya's main coffee growing regions are centered around the country's highest peak — Mount Kenya, which is Africa's second highest peak after Mount Kilimanjaro. Many plantations have excellent altitude, and the temperature difference between day and night at high altitudes helps extend the coffee maturation period and accumulate flavor compounds. For example, the beans from this Embu region are grown at 1800m altitude. FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya coffee has highly recognizable characteristics, known for its distinctive and complex berry and fruit flavors, while carrying sweet aromas and dense acidity.

Coffee Varieties

Kenyans place great importance on coffee science, and many farmers possess highly professional production knowledge. This is exemplified by the SL-28 and SL-34 we selected (both belong to the Arabica species). These two coffee varieties, named with codes, come from the "Scott" Laboratories (SL is the abbreviation for Laboratories). The laboratories were employed by the Kenyan government starting in the 1930s, and these two varieties are two of the 40 varieties obtained through planned selection. They constitute the majority of Kenya's high-quality coffee and are widely planted in all major growing regions.

Grading

Grading is very important for agricultural products, as it can provide a basis for pricing products of different standards according to unified criteria. This requires public authorities to invest effort in the formulation and implementation of these standards. Kenya's grading principle is based on bean size. Common specialty coffee grades on the market include AA (size above 18 mesh or 7.22mm), AB (combination of A: 16 mesh or 6.80mm and B: 15 mesh or 6.20mm), and PB (peaberries, referring to coffee fruits that develop only one seed).

The famous Blue Mountain Coffee comes from Jamaica, and only coffee grown at an altitude of 666 meters can be called Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, with the variety being Typica. As for Kenya's Blue Mountain Coffee, FrontStreet Coffee believes this may be a misconception caused by other factors. Kenya's most famous is AA grade coffee, and FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya AA is a heavyweight presence in specialty coffee.

Knowledge Extension

Jamaica is the only country in the world with a government coffee management organization — the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (CIB for short), which is under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of Jamaica.

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