What Types of Coffee Are Best Made with Blue Mountain Coffee Beans - The Huge Difference Between Blue Mountain Coffee and Blue Mountain Flavored Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee and Blue Mountain Style Coffee Introduction

Jamaica Blue Mountain — with 90% of Blue Mountain coffee exported to Japan, in earlier years 99.9% of the "Blue Mountain coffee" sold domestically was simply grown near the Blue Mountains. Only coffee produced on the 6,000 hectares of land above 1,600 meters in altitude can rightfully be called authentic Jamaica Blue Mountain.

In Nagoya, FrontStreet Coffee was delighted to find a bean supplier still charcoal-roasting No. 1 Blue Mountain beans. The method demands deep knowledge, experience, and fire control from the roaster, which is why it has become so rare. Charcoal roasting lets each bean pass evenly through the heat, giving a smoother taste, a heavier aftertaste, and flavor that holds even after the cup cools — a fine match for a bean like Blue Mountain. In earlier years, Japan preferred to brew Blue Mountain through flannel cloth, savoring its original character: rich, mellow texture with a lingering sweet finish. Today FrontStreet Coffee also brews Blue Mountain as a pour-over, which brings out a different profile that we recommend every coffee enthusiast try.

Jamaica officially recognizes three coffee categories: Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Coffee, and Jamaica Prime Coffee.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

Blue Mountain coffee itself is divided into 7 grades. From highest to lowest quality: No. 1 beans (17-18 screen), No. 2 beans (16 screen), No. 3 beans (15 screen), Peaberry (beans above 10 screen), Blended (a mixture of No. 1, 2, and 3), Triages (sample beans below 15 screen), and Mixed Peaberry. Under CIB (Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica) standards, only coffee grown between 3,000 and 5,500 feet in the Blue Mountains qualifies as Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee; coffee from anywhere else can only be called Jamaica High Mountain Coffee.

The CIB also maintains strict definitions of the Blue Mountain zone where the coffee may be produced.

Jamaica High Mountain Coffee

Coffee grown below 3,000 feet within the Blue Mountain region is High Mountain Coffee (Jamaica High Mountain Supreme). It ranks just behind Blue Mountain in quality and is known in the trade as Blue Mountain's sibling.

Jamaica Prime Coffee

Coffee grown outside the Blue Mountain region is Jamaica Prime Coffee.

Blue Mountain Style Coffee

"Blue Mountain Style" is really a "Blue Mountain Blend" with no connection to the authentic article. Since over 90% of real Blue Mountain goes to Japan, many of the "Blue Mountain coffees" on café menus elsewhere are simply not genuine. The practice arose because authentic Blue Mountain was scarce and costly, so operators blended other beans and roasted them dark to imitate the taste. Blended beans vary noticeably in shape, which makes them easier to spot. And do not be tempted by "premium Blue Mountain" for a few dozen yuan per jin, or a cup of "Blue Mountain" for thirty-odd yuan — genuine Blue Mountain green beans generally cost around 1,000 yuan per kilogram just landed, and with margins added the true price is unquestionably high.

Knowledge Expansion

Within the Blue Mountains, the legal production area for Blue Mountain coffee starts at 2,200 feet, and Wallenford processes only cherries grown above 4,000 feet.

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research shop dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge without reservation — that has been our mission for the past 6 years.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste the real thing, go for FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 — the top grade, from the historic Clifton Estate, which has produced coffee since around 1750 at an average 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters). FrontStreet holds the complete Jamaican certification and origin documents, along with the traditional wooden shipping barrels (15, 45, and 70kg) that only genuine Blue Mountain beans travel in.

FrontStreet roasts it medium-dark and suggests brewing with a Kono dripper to maximize the mellow body: 15g of coffee rested 4-7 days from roast date, ground slightly coarser than a light roast (about white-sugar size), 87-88°C water, and a 1:15 ratio in three pours — 30g bloom for 30 seconds, then to 120g, then to 225g. The result is a clean, complex, famously gentle cup with chocolate sweetness and a strong, full body.