Which Country Produces Blue Mountain Coffee Beans and What is the Actual Production Volume

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Blue Mountain Coffee

Blue Mountain Coffee gets its name from the original beans grown in the Blue Mountain range of Jamaica. Surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, on clear sunny days, sunlight directly hits the azure sea surface, and the mountain peaks reflect the brilliant blue light from the seawater, hence its name. Sounds romantic, doesn't it?

The unique natural geographical conditions have created the premium Blue Mountain Coffee. It has a rich and mellow flavor, and because the three tastes of coffee - sweetness, acidity, and bitterness - are perfectly balanced, it has no bitterness at all, only a moderate and perfect acidity.

The coffee trees of Blue Mountain Coffee grow on rugged mountain slopes, making the harvesting process extremely difficult. Only local skilled female workers can handle this task. It's crucial to select coffee beans that are perfectly ripe during harvesting - underripe or overripe beans will affect the coffee quality. After harvesting, the coffee beans must be hulled the same day, then left to ferment for 12-18 hours. Afterward, the coffee beans are washed and sorted. The next step is drying, which must be done on concrete floors or thick blankets until the moisture content of the coffee beans drops to 12%-14%. They are then stored in dedicated warehouses. When needed, they are taken out for roasting and then ground into powder. These procedures must be strictly controlled; otherwise, the coffee quality will be affected.

Because Blue Mountain Coffee is rare and hard to obtain, it is expensive. And because of its rarity, many merchants play a word game and launch "Blue Mountain flavored coffee." Note: Blue Mountain flavored coffee ≠ Blue Mountain Coffee. The former is blended by merchants themselves and may contain no Blue Mountain coffee beans at all.

According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters altitude can be called Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee; others can only be called High Mountain Coffee and Jamaica Coffee. For a layman like me, I can't taste the difference between above and below 666 meters. I think standards are rigid - as long as you like the taste of coffee, that's what matters.

Genuine Blue Mountain Coffee not only has excellent quality but also sells at a very high price. The price per hundred grams is over a hundred yuan, the price per kilogram of Blue Mountain coffee beans is over a thousand yuan, and a single cup costs about a hundred yuan depending on different merchants, with different pricing in different places. Therefore, many merchants take advantage of Blue Mountain's reputation to sell Blue Mountain flavored coffee beans.

Because Blue Mountain Coffee is only grown in limited areas, the harvest yield is extremely low. The 2014 green bean production was about 875 metric tons. From July 2013 to July 2014, Jamaica exported 283 tons of Blue Mountain green coffee beans to Japan, plus an additional 440 metric tons. The total was 723 tons. After roasting, this produces 578 tons of roasted beans. Calculating at 15 grams per cup, this equals about 38.56 million cups, meaning the average person in Japan drinks less than one cup of Blue Mountain Coffee per year. In fact, the Blue Mountain coffee bean variety is the same as other coffee beans grown in Jamaica, but because they are cultivated in harsh environments and selected through strict inspections, they produce an extremely delicate taste. In 1953, the Jamaican government legally drew a line between the Blue Mountain area and other areas, stipulating that the name "Blue Mountain Coffee" should not be used for coffee from other regions outside the Blue Mountains. Only coffee produced in selected areas of the Blue Mountain range can be called "Blue Mountain Coffee."

Knowledge Point: The Jamaica Coffee Industry Board samples from every batch of produced coffee beans, and after roasting and grinding, brews three cups of coffee. Senior tasters taste them according to procedures. Only when at least two out of three cups meet the standards can the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee certification be granted.

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