Arabica Coffee Bean Varieties: Does Blue Mountain Coffee Belong to the Arabica Variety and Pour-over Brewing Recommendations?

Arabica and Robusta are two coffee varieties familiar to everyone, and they are also the two most commonly cultivated commercial varieties worldwide. Among them, Arabica coffee beans offer superior flavor compared to Robusta, which is why some shops explicitly label their coffee beans as 100% Arabica.

What are Arabica Coffee Beans?

Arabica coffee beans, also known as small-grained coffee, originate from the Ethiopian highlands. Due to their excellent flavor and quality, they are now widely cultivated, accounting for 70% of global coffee production. Varieties we commonly hear about, such as Typica, Bourbon, Geisha, and others, all belong to the Arabica coffee species.

Arabica varieties are highly sensitive to their growing environment, therefore regions suitable for Arabica coffee tree growth are mostly located in the coffee belt between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn with mountainous terrain. Arabica requires an altitude of 800-2000 meters, with higher elevations producing better coffee quality. Arabica coffee is currently the most widely distributed coffee variety, cultivated in Asia, Central and South America, and Africa. Countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Panama, Colombia, and Brazil are all renowned Arabica coffee-producing nations.

What Variety Does Blue Mountain Coffee Belong To?

Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee enjoys widespread fame, with some appreciating its clean taste and others loving its chocolate notes. The Blue Mountain region has been growing coffee since the 18th century and has consistently cultivated the Typica variety (though in recent years, Jamaica has imported Yirgacheffe and Panamanian Geisha varieties for research experiments). The authentic Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans we can taste are 100% Typica variety.

Typica is the oldest Arabica variety. Its top leaves are bronze-colored, with long, oval-shaped smooth leaves. The plant grows tall with slightly inclined branches, offering elegant flavor but weak constitution and poor disease resistance. Each tree produces very low fruit yields. Typica variety coffee trees have long terminal branches with few branches. The flowers are white, blooming at the base where petioles connect to branches. Its ripe coffee fruits are bright red, resembling cherries, with oval or slender-pointed coffee beans.

It is precisely because Blue Mountain coffee has maintained a single, excellent coffee variety that its flavor remains clean and delicious. The Blue Mountains, surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, reflect the brilliant blue glow of seawater on their peaks on clear days when sunlight directly hits the azure sea surface, hence the name. The highest peak of Blue Mountain reaches 2256 meters, making it the highest peak in the Caribbean region and a famous tourist destination. Located in the coffee belt, it features fertile volcanic soil, fresh and unpolluted air, humid climate with year-round fog and rain (average precipitation of 1980mm, temperature around 27°C), creating ideal conditions for Typica coffee growth.

Of course, if you see coffee beans of the Blue Mountain variety being grown in other producing countries, this actually refers to Typica varieties introduced from the Blue Mountain region. As coffee trees adapt to local environments over time, they undergo changes. For example, Sumatran Typica and Blue Mountain Typica show slight differences in appearance despite both being Typica.

Jamaica is an island nation where Typica has been less influenced by other coffee varieties, preserving the flavor of ancient Typica, coupled with the fame of Blue Mountain coffee. Therefore, when other countries introduce Blue Mountain's Typica, they directly call it the Blue Mountain variety.

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Brewing Suggestions

Blue Mountain coffee has an excellent, clean taste, making it very suitable for pour-over brewing.

Coffee Amount: 15 grams
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Water Temperature: 88°C
Grind Size: 75% pass-through rate on No. 20 standard sieve
Dripper: KONO dripper

Brewing Method: Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, then slowly pour in concentric circles from center outward with a small water stream to 100g (total 130g on electronic scale). Wait until the coffee bed drops to halfway, then pour 65g with a large water stream to reach total water weight of 195g. Remove the dripper after all coffee liquid has flowed into the server below. Total brewing time is 1 minute 52 seconds.

Flavor: This brewing method brings out Blue Mountain's clean taste with chocolate and nutty notes, achieving a perfect balance of acidity, sweetness, and bitterness.

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