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

Kenya Coffee and Jamaica Blue Mountain: Clearing Up a Common Confusion

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

Both Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are divided into four grades. Ranked by quality from highest to lowest, they are No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and PB, where PB refers to peaberries. According to CIB standards, only coffee grown at altitudes above 666 meters may be called Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. The finest of these treasures comes from the Blue Mountains of Jamaica at approximately 2000-2256m elevation, where steep mountainside plots limit production but yield large beans of excellent quality and balanced flavor. Such coffee possesses appropriate acidity, bitterness, aroma, richness, and sweetness at the same time, which is why it is recognized worldwide as a supreme coffee. For that reason, National Treasure Blue Mountain No. 1 carries the highest price of all Blue Mountain coffees.

Authentic Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee comes with certificate authentication. The Jamaican government once insisted that all Blue Mountain Coffee be roasted in Jamaica to guarantee consistent quality, but roasting is a refined art that demands experience, training, and expensive equipment, and from a consumer's point of view, coffee should be obtained and consumed as soon as possible after roasting. Coffee roasted in Jamaica cannot meet that requirement, so Jamaican green beans may now be exported.

Today the Jamaica Coffee Board can issue certificates for all exported Blue Mountain Coffee. There are three types of certificate: the quality certificate issued by the Jamaica Coffee Board, the authorized sales certificate issued by the Blue Mountain Coffee producer, and the certificate of origin for Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee.

Kenya Coffee Growing Regions

Kenya's main coffee growing regions are centered on the country's highest peak, Mount Kenya, which is Africa's second highest peak after Mount Kilimanjaro. Many plantations enjoy excellent altitude, and the wide day-to-night temperature difference at high altitude helps extend the coffee's maturation period and accumulate flavor compounds. The beans from the Embu region, for example, are grown at 1800m. FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya coffee has highly recognizable characteristics, known for its distinctive and complex berry and fruit flavors, along with sweet aromas and dense acidity.

Coffee Varieties

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

Grading

Grading matters for any agricultural product, because it provides a basis for pricing goods of different standards under unified criteria, which requires public authorities to invest effort in setting and enforcing the standards. Kenya's grading principle is based on bean size. The common specialty grades on the market include AA (above 18 mesh, or 7.22mm), AB (a combination of A at 16 mesh, or 6.80mm, and B at 15 mesh, or 6.20mm), and PB, the peaberries, which are coffee fruits that develop only a single seed.

The famous Blue Mountain Coffee comes from Jamaica, and only coffee grown at an altitude of 666 meters or above may be called Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, with the variety being Typica. As for "Kenya Blue Mountain Coffee," FrontStreet Coffee believes this is a misconception caused by other factors. Kenya's most famous coffee is its AA grade, and FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya AA is a heavyweight 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 sits under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of Jamaica.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the combination of a certified origin, a long history, and a balanced cup is what interests you, FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 is the clearest example. It comes from the historic Clifton Mount Estate, where coffee has been grown and processed since about 1750 at an average elevation of 4,300 feet (1,310.64 m). Ample altitude, mild afternoon cloud shading the slopes, abundant sunlight, and mineral-rich soil give the trees excellent growing conditions and lengthen the ripening of the cherry.

The estate is one of the Rainforest Alliance certified estates, and its whole production process follows sustainable practice, minimizing pollution and recycling the water used in the processing plant. When FrontStreet Coffee receives the green beans, the outer wooden barrels are printed with the green rainforest tree frog logo, one of the marks that distinguishes a genuine lot. Blue Mountain No. 1 is the highest grade of the batch, and the cup is very clean, complex, and gentle, with chocolate sweetness and a strong body, an ideal combination of sweetness, acidity, and bitterness, and a lasting fruit note at the end.

FrontStreet Coffee roasts it medium-dark to bring out the rounded body and the classic traditional character, and ships within 5 days of roasting so the beans arrive full of aroma. To brew it, choose a Kono dripper to strengthen the mouthfeel, use 15g for one serving, and rest the beans 4-7 days from the roast date. Grind slightly coarser than a light roast, about the texture of granulated sugar, and brew at 87-88 degrees Celsius, since water that is too hot produces a scorched bitterness and water that is too cool gives a flat, lifeless cup. Use a 1:15 ratio and pour in three stages: bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, pour slowly to 120g with a vertical stream and small circles, then pour to 225g with a slightly faster flow and faster circles to avoid clogging the filter and over-extracting.