Which Blue Mountain Coffee Brand Has the Best Quality? Will Coffee Taste Harsh If Beans Aren't Properly Aged?

FrontStreet Coffee - Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee and Coffee Bean Aging Period Introduction

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RSW 100% Jamaica Blue Mountain Estate Coffee is an abbreviation composed of three coffee estate groups: Resource, Sherwood Forest, and Whitfield Hall, taking the first letter of each estate. Therefore, RSW estate refers to 100% Jamaica Blue Mountain produced within these three estate groups.

Resource: Resource Estate is located in the Yallahs Valley of the Blue Mountains, with an altitude of up to 1,200 meters. It is the westernmost of the RSW estates, about a 1.5-hour drive from the capital Kingston. Following the road to the Blue Mountain production area, you first pass through Mavis Bank, then cross the Yallahs River, and then ascend along the valley, located just below the century-old Cinchona Tree Medicinal Botanical Garden.

Resource Estate owner Cecil Langford has been operating this estate for over 40 years. Over the years, the estate has expanded from the original 10 acres to 30 acres. Initially, coffee was processed on-site after harvesting, but now all post-harvest processing has been moved to Sherwood Factory. The coffee trees at Resource Estate are mostly planted on the northwestern slopes of the mountains, irrigated by the perennial streams flowing from the north. The estate has 4 full-time farmers, and the harvest period is from November to early May of the following year, when 60 local harvest workers are needed to help with the harvesting.

After all mature coffee cherries from RSW are harvested, they are sent to Sherwood. First, visual inspection is performed to remove debris and some defective fruits, and within 12 hours of arrival, the depulping process is carried out. There is a sugary mucilage layer outside the pulp, which must be removed during processing. Most coffee cherries at this stage use hard brushes to remove the pulp layer and mucilage from the fruit surface to save time. In fact, this time-saving processing method is similar to [semi-washed], but RSW uses [fermentation method] to naturally make the mucilage layer fall off! Without the aid of other equipment, after fermentation is complete, the coffee cherries are washed and these parchment beans are sun-dried on clean concrete grounds. This sun-drying process is called "bar-be-ques".

Long-term natural sun-drying can indeed enhance the sweetness and flavor of the beans. RSW Estates are 100% sun dried (sun-dried, guaranteed no machine drying). Drying must continue until the bean moisture content reaches between 11% to 13%, then they are moved to a 24°C constant temperature and humidity environment for 2-3 months of resting, which makes the flavor even better!

During export, small batches undergo low-temperature hulling, polishing, and grading. After these actions are completed, manual detailed bean sorting is performed: defective beans, broken beans, discolored beans, and poor-flavor beans are all removed. Each worker can only sort 75 pounds per day. After manual sorting is complete, the green beans are moved back to constant temperature and humidity storage for preservation. Before export, the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board sends personnel for inspection. After passing the inspection, they are packed into oak barrels at Sherwood factory and then exported by air.

Coffee Bean Aging Period

Aging refers to roasted coffee beans stored in sealed coffee bags, allowing the coffee beans to release carbon dioxide and other gases produced during the roasting process, and letting various substances inside the coffee beans stabilize through several days of resting. Otherwise, overly fresh coffee will taste harsh when brewed.

Knowledge Expansion

In 1950, the Jamaican government established the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board to set quality standards for Jamaican coffee, supervise the implementation of these quality standards, and grant special official seals to exported green and roasted coffee. It is the highest-level national coffee institution in the world.

In Summary

FrontStreet Coffee is a specialty coffee research house that enjoys sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation only to let more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, we hold three low-discount coffee events because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest price. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's principle for the past 6 years!

Important Notice :

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