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Blue Mountain Coffee: Is Only Wash-Processed Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Authentic?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, In the coffee world, Blue Mountain Coffee holds such prestige that even those who haven't tasted Blue Mountain beans have certainly heard of it. Before specialty coffee developed, Blue Mountain Coffee was essentially the only coffee bean people knew, becoming the standard by which coffee quality was judged. What does Blue Mountain actually taste like? FrontStreet Coffee believes Blue Mountain is characterized by its pleasant acidity and sweetness.

In the world of coffee, Blue Mountain Coffee's reputation is such that even those who haven't tasted Blue Mountain beans have certainly heard of Blue Mountain Coffee. Before specialty coffee developed, Blue Mountain Coffee became essentially the only coffee bean people recognized, serving as the standard for defining whether coffee tasted good or not. So what exactly does Blue Mountain taste like? FrontStreet Coffee believes that Blue Mountain is a coffee with perfectly balanced sweet, sour, and bitter notes. To enable today's coffee enthusiasts to experience this traditional and classic flavor, FrontStreet Coffee offers two authentic Blue Mountain coffees from Jamaica's Blue Mountain Clifton Estate. What makes an authentic Blue Mountain Coffee? FrontStreet Coffee will explain how to identify genuine Blue Mountain Coffee.

Jamaican Blue Mountain

Jamaica's coffee history can be traced back to the 18th century. In 1717, King Louis XV of France ordered coffee to be cultivated in Jamaica. In the mid-1720s, Jamaica's Governor Sir Nicholas Lawes imported Arabica seeds from Martinique and began promoting cultivation in the St. Andrew area. Coffee trees were introduced to Jamaica and planted in the Blue Mountain range, which was divided into high-altitude Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, High Mountain Coffee, and Jamaican Coffee, with different grades determining different prices.

The Blue Mountain range is located in eastern Jamaica. The mountain is named because when the weather is clear, direct sunlight hits the azure Caribbean Sea, and the peaks reflect the brilliant blue light of the water. The highest peak of Blue Mountain reaches 2,256 meters (coffee can only be grown below 1,700m, with areas above designated as protected forest), making it the highest peak in the Caribbean region and a famous tourist destination. Located in the coffee belt, this area features fertile volcanic soil, fresh unpolluted air, humid climate with year-round fog and rain, average precipitation of 1,980 millimeters, and temperatures around 27°C. Such climate conditions have created the world-renowned Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, as well as the world's highest-priced coffee.

Only Blue Mountain Coffee grown at altitudes above 800 meters is considered authentic Blue Mountain Coffee. The Blue Mountain Coffee on FrontStreet Coffee's menu is grown at an altitude of 1,310 meters and comes from Clifton Estate.

Clifton Estate

FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaican Blue Mountain comes from Clifton Estate, located on Clifton Mountain. It is the oldest coffee-producing area in Jamaica that still operates normally today, and only Clifton Farm in Jamaica has the "Rainforest Alliance" certification. As early as the mid-18th century (around 1750), Clifton Farm began cultivating and producing coffee. Today's Clifton Farm is the largest estate in this region, which would still be considered small-scale by international standards, with many estate owners being small landholders. The Sharp family has been working on this land for two centuries. With sufficient altitude, gentle afternoon clouds surrounding the forested mountains for shade, ample sunlight, and mineral-rich planting soil, this area provides excellent growing conditions for coffee trees and extends the maturation period of coffee cherries.

Blue Mountain Coffee Bean Processing Method

Before 2019, Clifton Farm's Blue Mountain Coffee was consistently processed using the washed method. During processing, the fruit skin and pulp are first removed, allowing fermentation for 12-18 hours. The fermented beans are then placed in pools and moved back and forth, using the friction between beans and the power of flowing water to wash the coffee beans until smooth and clean. After washing, the coffee beans are still encased in their parchment, with a moisture content of 50%. They must be sun-dried to reduce moisture content to 12-14%, otherwise they would continue fermenting and become moldy and spoiled. The beans are then sorted and stored in specialized warehouses. The washed processing method ensures that Blue Mountain Coffee has rich aroma, balanced taste, and maintains its essential character without any particular flavor being prominent or lacking. In 2019, Clifton Farm broke from its traditional model by using natural processing for the first time. For FrontStreet Coffee, this natural-processed Blue Mountain represents a change in the flavor structure inherent to Blue Mountain due to the altered processing method. When FrontStreet Coffee introduces coffee beans from specific regions to customers, it typically recommends washed-processed beans first because washed processing best represents the flavor profile of that region. Of course, Blue Mountain Coffee adopting natural processing primarily follows market development trends.

How to Identify Genuine Blue Mountain Coffee?

The CIB stipulates that only Blue Mountain Coffee beans produced in regions above 2,200 feet in Jamaica's Blue Mountains can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain. Their grades are classified by bean size into NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and hand-selected PB. The basic standards for NO.1 Blue Mountain green beans include beans larger than 17 mesh, defect rate below 3%, moisture content around 13%, etc. To date, Blue Mountain Coffee green beans have only been processed using one method—washed processing—with no natural or other processing methods.

Currently, the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board can issue certificates for all exported Blue Mountain Coffee on the market.

Certificates come in three types:

(1) Quality certification issued by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board

(2) Authorized sales certificate issued by Blue Mountain Coffee manufacturers.

(Blue Mountain Coffee is distributed by 4 Jamaican government-licensed processors and exported by 16 licensed exporters)

(3) Certificate of origin for Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain consists of Blue Mountain Coffee exported through companies designated by the National Coffee Board, with green beans packed in wooden barrels and Rainforest Alliance certified Blue Mountain Coffee beans.

How FrontStreet Coffee Roasts Washed and Natural Blue Mountain Coffee

To highlight the balanced sweet, sour, and bitter flavors of Blue Mountain Coffee and its smooth mouthfeel, FrontStreet Coffee uses a medium-dark roast level to enhance the richness of both coffee varieties.

How FrontStreet Coffee Brews Both Blue Mountain Coffee Varieties

FrontStreet Coffee uses a Kono dripper when brewing both Blue Mountain Coffee varieties. The Kono's ribs stop at less than half the height of the dripper, a design actually intended to ensure that after wetting, the filter paper clings tightly to the dripper wall, restricting airflow. This increases the water absorption time of the coffee particles, resulting in more uniform extraction and enhanced body. The concave framework at the bottom of the Kono dripper is also a key design that creates a siphon effect during subsequent brewing.

Recommended water temperature: 88-89°C

Grind size: Fujiyama Fuji 4.5 (coarse sugar size)

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

FrontStreet Coffee brewing method: Use 30g of water for a 30-second bloom, then pour in a small circular motion to 125g before pausing. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop pouring. When the water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper (timing starts from the bloom). Total extraction time is 2'00".

[Washed Blue Mountain Brewing Flavor]: Very clean and complex taste, extremely mild, with chocolate sweetness and very strong body. The flavor is rich and mellow, with perfect balance of coffee's sweet, sour, and bitter notes—completely without bitterness, with only moderate and perfect acidity, and a persistent fruity finish.

[Natural Blue Mountain Brewing Flavor]: Slight berry acidity reminiscent of dark plum and mulberry, overall balanced, with black chocolate and nut flavors, along with slight fermentation and smoky notes.