FrontStreet Coffee - Kenya AA SASINI Estate Introduction

Some say that Blue Mountain coffee is exceptionally delicious, with a truly mellow and balanced flavor that leaves an endless aftertaste; others argue that Blue Mountain coffee isn't actually that good. FrontStreet Coffee believes: this is like some people preferring sour flavors while others prefer sweet flavors—it's simply a matter of personal taste preferences. Moreover, Blue Mountain coffee is indeed an excellent coffee, the cream of the crop among specialty coffees, and one of the most expensive coffees in the world. It enjoys such a high reputation mainly because Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is genuinely refined, smooth, and clean in taste, renowned globally for these qualities.

Is Blue Mountain Coffee Expensive?

FrontStreet Coffee believes: Blue Mountain coffee might have seemed expensive in the past, and even then, you couldn't necessarily get authentic Blue Mountain coffee. Why say this? Because in the past, the quantity of Blue Mountain coffee entering China was very small, yet the price was very high. Some businessmen thought of using Blue Mountain flavored coffee to pass off as Blue Mountain coffee, resulting in high prices without getting genuine Blue Mountain coffee. Of course, perhaps they didn't even know they weren't drinking real Blue Mountain coffee, as they weren't very familiar with it.

Today, the price of Blue Mountain coffee remains very high. In fact, due to the huge market demand in China, Blue Mountain has been normally imported for several years now. In recent years, owners of Blue Mountain coffee plantations have also visited China to further help Chinese consumers understand Blue Mountain coffee beans. Blue Mountain coffee in the Chinese market is not so rare that it's all fake. The current Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee production area is larger than before, and Japan's consumption power has weakened recently, so genuine Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is also sold in China—as long as you know how to identify it, you can buy authentic products.

What Environment Produces Such Mellow Coffee?

FrontStreet Coffee has mentioned before that coffee is a type of agricultural crop, and its growing environment directly affects its flavor. True Blue Mountain coffee refers to coffee grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. Only Blue Mountain coffee cultivated at altitudes above 800 meters is authentic Blue Mountain coffee. The Blue Mountain coffee on FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu is grown at an altitude of 1310 meters, from the Clifton Estate.

The Blue Mountains are located in eastern Jamaica. When the weather is clear, the sun shines directly on the azure sea surface, and the peaks reflect the brilliant blue light of the seawater, hence the name. The highest peak of the Blue Mountains reaches 2256 meters, making it the highest peak in the Caribbean region and a famous tourist destination. This area is situated in the coffee belt, with fertile volcanic soil, fresh air without pollution, humid climate, and year-round fog and rain (average precipitation of 1980mm, temperature around 27°C). Such climate has created the world-renowned Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, as well as the world's highest-priced coffee.

Blue Mountain coffee has very low caffeine content, less than half of other coffees, aligning with modern health concepts. The same coffee variety, when planted in places with similar climates like Hawaii, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, or anywhere else, cannot produce the distinctive flavor of Blue Mountain coffee.

How Much Does a Cup of Blue Mountain Coffee Cost?

Blue Mountain coffee is not the most expensive coffee in the world, but its mellow richness is unparalleled. So how much does a cup of Blue Mountain coffee actually cost? Genuine imported Blue Mountain roasted beans generally cost around 1200 RMB per pound (450 grams). A typical 45cc cup of coffee requires about 7 grams of coffee beans for grinding and brewing. Therefore, one pound of coffee beans can typically make about 50 to 60 cups of coffee. So the raw material cost for each cup of Blue Mountain coffee is between 20 to 24 RMB. Adding the coffee shop's operating costs, it's quite normal for the price to double to 50 RMB per cup.

In earlier years in China, one could drink fake Blue Mountain costing over a hundred RMB per cup. Even now, although there's plenty of genuine Blue Mountain in the country, the selling price remains expensive. However, at FrontStreet Coffee, a cup of genuine Blue Mountain costs only 60 RMB, allowing you to experience an exceptional taste. The most beloved characteristic of Blue Mountain coffee is its subtle fragrance and light sweetness with minimal bitterness. The fruity flavor unfolds upon entry, followed by cocoa and nutty notes that present sweetness and aftertaste.

Market Availability and Grading

There are many Blue Mountain coffees on the market—are they all the same flavor? FrontStreet Coffee wants to tell everyone that there are many coffees labeled with the Blue Mountain name on the market, but not all of them belong to Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, because the production of genuine Blue Mountain coffee is limited. One reason why Blue Mountain coffee beans are so expensive is that in earlier years, 85% of Blue Mountain coffee was monopolized by the Japanese, with only 15% circulating globally, making it particularly precious. According to Jamaican Coffee Board export statistics from 2013, of the limited Blue Mountain coffee bean quota, 85% was exported to Japan, 5% to the United States, 5% to Europe, and 5% to other countries. However, in the global consumption distribution of authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, China actually accounts for 15% of consumption according to International Coffee Association statistics. This is because some Jamaican Blue Mountain shares from Japan, Australia, and Europe are exported to Taiwan through directly operated branch companies.

Blue Mountain Coffee Grading

Let's see what grades of Blue Mountain coffee exist and how they are classified. Coffee from the Jamaican Blue Mountain region has three grades: Blue Mountain Coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee Beans, and Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans.

Among these, Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee each have two sub-grades. Ranked from highest to lowest quality: Blue Mountain No.1, Blue Mountain No.2, High Mountain No.1, High Mountain No.2, and Jamaica Coffee.

Ranked by quality from top to bottom: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB, where PB refers to peaberries. According to CIB standards, the basic requirements for NO.1 Blue Mountain green beans include beans larger than 17 mesh, defect rate below 3%, moisture content around 13%, etc. The best Blue Mountain coffee beans are NO.1 peaberry, also called pearl beans, which are carefully selected small round beans from products at 2100 meters altitude—the cream of the crop among specialty coffees. They have a very intense aroma with lasting fruit flavors and full-bodied particles.

Blue Mountain coffee has very low caffeine content, less than half of other coffees, aligning with modern health concepts. The same coffee variety, when planted in places with similar climates like Hawaii, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, or anywhere else, cannot produce the taste of Blue Mountain coffee beans. The Jamaican Blue Mountain No.1 coffee sold by FrontStreet Coffee comes with a certificate issued by the Jamaican Coffee Board. Additionally, the wooden barrels packaging Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans feature a green frog logo. This is because FrontStreet Coffee specifically chose the Clifton Farm, a Rainforest Alliance certified estate that produces Jamaican Blue Mountain No.1 coffee. Jamaica is also the only producing region that uses wooden barrels to package green beans.

Blue Mountain Coffee Varieties

Ethiopia is the gene bank of coffee, and the Blue Mountain coffee introduced by FrontStreet Coffee is of the Typica variety. Typica is the oldest Arabica subspecies, with bronze-colored leaf tips and oval or slender-pointed beans. The tree is tall with slightly inclined branches at angles of 50-70 degrees, known as red-topped coffee. The opposite leaves of the coffee tree are long-oval with smooth surfaces, and the terminal branches are long with few branches. The flowers are white, blooming at the base where petioles connect to branches. The flavor is elegant, but the plant is weak with poor disease resistance, and each tree has very low fruit yield. Mature coffee fruits look like cherries, appearing bright red.

Blue Mountain Coffee Bean Processing Methods

In the past, Blue Mountain coffee only used washed processing. The method uses washing and fermentation to remove the fruit pulp and mucilage. Farms using the washed method must build washing pools and be able to introduce a continuous supply of fresh water. During processing, the fruit pulp is first removed, then fermented for 12-18 hours. The completed fermented beans are then placed in the pool and moved back and forth, using the friction of the beans and the power of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until they are smooth and clean. After washing, the coffee beans are still encased in the parchment with a moisture content of 50%, and must be sun-dried to reduce the moisture content to 12-14%. Otherwise, they will continue to ferment, becoming moldy and spoiled. Afterward, the coffee beans are screened and then stored in special warehouses. These procedures must be strictly controlled, otherwise the coffee quality will be affected.

Today's Blue Mountain coffee isn't limited to washed processing; there's also natural processing. FrontStreet Coffee has launched a batch of natural processed Blue Mountain coffee, which of course is also certified for export by the Jamaican Coffee Board.

Actually, the production of this natural processed Blue Mountain coffee is quite challenging. The reason why only washed processing existed before is that washing best preserves the essential flavor characteristics of Blue Mountain. Changing the processing method will definitely alter its flavor structure. This is also why FrontStreet Coffee's daily bean coffee series almost all use washed processing—as washed best represents the flavor of the producing region. Of course, Blue Mountain coffee adopting natural processing is more about following market developments, just like FrontStreet Coffee recently added a natural processed Mandheling coffee bean, which differs from the traditional wet-hulled method.

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Brewing Recommendations:

Filter: Kono filter
Water temperature: 88°C
Coffee amount: 15g
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Grind size: Medium grind (75% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve)

Brewing method: Three-stage extraction. Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds. Using a small water flow, pour in a circular motion until reaching 125g, then segment. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until reaching 225g, then stop pouring. Wait until all coffee liquid has dripped through the filter, then remove the filter cup. Start timing from the beginning of pouring—the entire coffee extraction time is 2'00".

Flavor Description

[FrontStreet Coffee Natural Blue Mountain Coffee] Slight berry acidity, reminiscent of dark plums and mulberries, with excellent overall balance, rich dark chocolate and nutty flavors, with a slight fermentation sensation.

[FrontStreet Coffee Washed Blue Mountain Coffee] Rich dark chocolate and nutty flavors, creamily smooth texture, with balanced acidity and bitterness.

For coffee brewing, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans to maximize the rich flavors of the coffee. The coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness greatly affects flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee upon arrival. The coffee resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at its peak flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee has over 50 single-origin coffees from different regions, all representative coffee beans with varying prices, giving you different experiences.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473