Which Blue Mountain Coffee Brand is Best and What's the Price of Blue Mountain No. 1 - A Barrel of Coffee, A Barrel of Gold

FrontStreet Coffee: Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1

Jamaica is known for its rum and its coffee, and Jamaican Blue Mountain holds a sacred place in the world's coffee pantheon and a special corner in the hearts of coffee lovers. Its balanced, mild profile has earned it wide respect.

Historical Background

In 1717, King Louis XV of France ordered coffee cultivation in Jamaica. In the mid-1720s, Jamaican Governor Sir Nicholas Lawes imported Arabica seeds from Martinique and began promoting cultivation in the St. Andrew area. St. Andrew remains, to this day, one of the three major producing regions for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.

Quality Characteristics

Jamaican Blue Mountain is perfectly balanced in aroma, body, and taste, and is widely regarded as the king of coffees. Its mellow, smooth body and sweet aftertaste have no equal.

In 1953, the Jamaican government established the Coffee Industry Board (JACRA, formerly the CIB) to drive improvement in Jamaican coffee quality. Jamaica was among the first countries to register coffee production regions as trademarks. Every coffee exported from Jamaica must pass JACRA certification — meaning only coffee designated by Jamaican law can be regarded as authentic Blue Mountain.

Grading System

Coffee from the Jamaican Blue Mountain region falls into three grades: Blue Mountain Coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Supreme, and Jamaica Prime. Blue Mountain and High Mountain are each further divided into two grades. Ranked by quality, from highest to lowest: Blue Mountain No. 1, Blue Mountain No. 2, High Mountain No. 1, High Mountain No. 2, and Jamaica Prime.

R.S.W Blue Mountain Estate

R.S.W Blue Mountain Estate lies inside Jamaica's legally designated Blue Mountain region. "R.S.W" refers to 100% Blue Mountain beans produced by its Resource, Sherwood Forest, and Whitfield Hall estates. R.S.W is one of the highest-altitude estates in the Blue Mountain region. Because of that elevation, cool mountain cloud often settles over the area in the afternoons, which is highly beneficial for the trees: it spares them the harshest midday sun and lets the fruit develop more fully and absorb nutrients more completely. One pound of Blue Mountain green beans costs over a thousand yuan.

The Variety

Worth knowing: the variety behind Jamaican Blue Mountain is one of the oldest there is — Typica.

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research hub dedicated to sharing what it knows with everyone. That unconditional sharing exists to help more people fall in love with coffee, and the hub holds three low-discount coffee events each month, because the aim is to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest prices. That has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1. The highest grade of Blue Mountain, and the one to seek out. It comes from the historic Clifton Mount Estate, where coffee has been grown and processed since around 1750. The farm's planting and processing areas sit at an average of 4,300 feet (1310.64 meters) — enough altitude, gentle afternoon cloud in the hills, ample sunlight, and mineral-rich soil to give the trees ideal conditions and to stretch out the ripening of the cherry. FrontStreet ships it freshly roasted so it arrives at full flavor. Traditional Blue Mountain is medium-dark roasted for a rich body and a lingering sweetness. FrontStreet suggests a Kono dripper, 15g per serving, rested 4-7 days from the roast date, a grind a little coarser than for a light roast (roughly white-sugar texture), 87-88°C water, and a 1:15 ratio poured in three stages. The cup is remarkably clean, complex, and gentle — chocolate sweetness and a very strong body, with the sweet, acidic, and bitter notes in perfect harmony and a long fruity finish.

FrontStreet Blue Mountain Coffee. The traditional everyday expression of the origin, medium-dark roasted for the same rounded, balanced character. Brew it as a pour-over at a 1:15 to 1:16 ratio with 85-88°C water and a medium-coarse grind, which foregrounds the cream, caramel, and nut notes while keeping the soft, bright sweetness. A moka pot — slightly finer grind, hot water in the base, medium-low heat, off the flame just as the coffee finishes flowing — deepens the chocolate, caramel, and nut flavors and thickens the body. Authentic Blue Mountain also travels in its own wood barrels, in 15, 45, and 70 kg sizes, each printed with the lot's full details — one more way to tell the real thing from the rest.