Blue Mountain Coffee's First Natural Process - A True Novelty? The Difference Between Natural and Washed Blue Mountain Coffee

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FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee offers a perfectly balanced flavor profile of sweet, sour, and bitter notes, accompanied by a captivating coffee aroma. This has cultivated a romantic appreciation among coffee connoisseurs for FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans, with FrontStreet Coffee being one such enthusiast. In recent years, Blue Mountain coffee has been misrepresented by market promotions of so-called "Blue Mountain flavored coffee" and "Blue Mountain coffee beverages," misleading countless people about the true nature of Blue Mountain coffee. Indeed, authentic FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee beans have limited production and are expensive, with only a small minority having actually tasted genuine FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee. To enable more people to experience authentic FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee, FrontStreet Coffee has specially selected two batches of Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans from the historically significant Clifton Mount Estate, exported by the company designated by the National Coffee Board, packaged in wooden barrels for green beans, and rainforest certified.

The Scarcity of Blue Mountain Coffee

As mentioned earlier, authentic FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee beans have limited production because Blue Mountain coffee beans must be grown in specific Blue Mountain coffee cultivation regions. These regions are located in eastern Jamaica, and only coffee grown within the four administrative districts of St. Andrew, St. Thomas, St. Mary, and Portland, at altitudes between 1000-1700m, can bear the official Blue Mountain certification mark.

Jamaica's total annual coffee production is maintained at 1200-2400 tons, with Blue Mountain coffee accounting for only about 40% of this total. This production ratio is one of the reasons for the high price of Blue Mountain coffee beans. Are there other factors contributing to the high price of Blue Mountain coffee beans in China? Yes, another reason is Japan's priority purchasing rights for Blue Mountain coffee beans before 2009, which monopolized over 80% of Blue Mountain coffee beans.

Japan's Historical Priority Purchasing Rights

Why did Japan have priority purchasing rights before 2009?

In 1950, the Jamaican government established the Jamaican Coffee Industry Board. This board sets quality standards for Jamaican coffee and supervises the implementation of these standards to ensure the quality of Jamaican coffee. The board grants special official seals to both green and roasted coffee exported from Jamaica. Due to Japanese loans that improved production quality, market access was guaranteed. It wasn't until 2009 that Jamaica ended Japan's priority purchasing rights, and in April 2011, the first batch of Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee arrived in mainland China.

Why Blue Mountain Coffee Remains Expensive

Since the Jamaican government ended Japan's priority purchasing rights, why are Blue Mountain coffee beans still so expensive?

Starting in 2008, Jamaican coffee growing regions suffered from fruit flies, fruit flies, droughts, and typhoons, causing production to decline. In 2012, leaf rust severely impacted Jamaica's premium Blue Mountain growing regions. If you thought that was the end, misfortune wasn't over yet. In 2015, Jamaican coffee regions were hit by forest fires. It will likely take several years for Blue Mountain coffee to recover to its former glory. Before these misfortunes, Jamaica's coffee production reached 2400 tons, with a peak of 3240 tons in 1997. After these disasters, Jamaica's coffee production can only be maintained between 1200-2400 tons, which means Blue Mountain coffee production is only about 300-600 tons.

Blue Mountain Coffee Growing Region

The Blue Mountains are located in eastern Jamaica, at elevations of 1000-1700m. Only Blue Mountain coffee grown in this specific region is considered authentic Blue Mountain coffee. The mountains are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, and on clear days when sunlight directly hits the azure sea surface, the peaks reflect the brilliant blue light of the water, hence their name. Blue Mountain is situated in the coffee growing belt, with fertile volcanic soil, fresh air free from pollution, humid climate, and year-round fog and rainfall (average precipitation of 1980mm, temperature around 27°C). Such climate conditions have created the world-renowned Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.

Here, people use mixed cultivation methods to grow coffee trees, planting them alongside banana and avocado trees on terraced fields. The mountainous terrain is rugged and uneven (all coffee trees are planted on steep mountain slopes), making the harvesting process extremely difficult. Only local experienced female workers can perform this task properly. It's also crucial to select appropriately ripe coffee beans during harvesting, as underripe or overripe beans will affect the coffee quality.

Clifton Mount Estate

FrontStreet Coffee's current Blue Mountain coffee offerings come from Clifton Mount Estate, which began planting and producing coffee as early as the mid-18th century (around 1750). The coffee cultivation and processing areas here are situated at an average altitude of 4300 feet (1310.64 meters), with sufficient elevation, afternoon gentle clouds surrounding the mountain forests for shade, ample sunlight, and mineral-rich planting soil. These conditions provide excellent growing conditions for coffee trees and extend the maturation period of coffee cherries.

Clifton Mount Estate is also the only estate in the Blue Mountain growing region with Rainforest Alliance certification. Rainforest Alliance certification refers to traditional cultivation methods using native forest tree shade, which are beneficial to protecting the ecosystem. Part of the alliance's revenue is also used for wildlife protection in tropical rainforest conservation areas and improving workers' living conditions.

Blue Mountain Coffee Varieties

Typica

Blue Mountain's Typica variety was transplanted from Martinique to Jamaica's Blue Mountains in the 1720s. After over 200 years, Blue Mountain Typica has evolved to have better disease resistance, particularly against coffee berry disease, which is superior to regular Typica. However, when Blue Mountain Typica is grown outside Jamaica, it cannot replicate its clean sweetness and subtle fragrance characteristics.

Typica variety has bronze-colored young leaves, oval or slender-pointed beans, tall tree structure with slightly inclined branches at 50-70 degree angles. It offers elegant flavor but has weak constitution and poor disease resistance, with very low fruit yield per tree.

Blue Mountain Coffee Export Standards

According to CIB regulations, only Blue Mountain coffee beans produced above 2200 feet in Jamaica's Blue Mountain region can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain. The grades are classified by bean size into No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and hand-selected PB (Peaberry). The basic standards for No. 1 Blue Mountain green beans include beans above 17 mesh size, defect rate below 3%, moisture content around 13%, etc. Currently, the Jamaican Coffee Board can issue certificates for all exported Blue Mountain coffee.

Blue Mountain Grade Classifications

What are Blue Mountain No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and hand-selected PB?

Blue Mountain No. 1: 96% of coffee beans must be screen size 17/18, with no more than 2% defective beans.

Blue Mountain No. 2: 96% of coffee beans must be screen size 16, with no more than 2% defective beans.

Blue Mountain No. 3: 96% of coffee beans must be screen size 15, with no more than 2% defective beans.

Blue Mountain Peaberry: 96% of coffee beans must be single round beans of screen size 10, with no more than 2% defective beans.

Blue Mountain Coffee Processing Methods

Before 2019, FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee from Clifton Mount Estate was processed using the washed method. During processing, the skin and pulp are first removed, then fermented for 12-18 hours. The completed 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 enclosed in parchment with 50% moisture content and must be sun-dried to reduce moisture content to 12-14%, otherwise they will continue to ferment, mold, and spoil. Afterward, the coffee beans are sorted and then stored in dedicated warehouses.

In the 2020 harvest season, Clifton Mount Estate launched Blue Mountain coffee beans processed using the natural method for the first time, which was quite innovative. Jamaica has a tropical rainforest climate, with rainy seasons from May-June and September-November each year, with the most rainfall in January and May. The harvest and processing season for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is from February to June each year, overlapping with the rainy season for half of this time, making natural processing clearly impractical. Additionally, traditional natural processing yields unstable coffee quality, entirely dependent on weather conditions. To achieve high-quality natural processing, labor costs are higher than washed methods. When coffee cherries are dried on patios, they need to be manually turned every few hours to maintain ventilation, reduce mold growth, and ensure even drying. Such a laborious and unrewarding processing method was particularly difficult to implement in Jamaica at that time.

FrontStreet Coffee has introduced a natural-processed FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee (also certified and exported by the Jamaican Coffee Board). The production of this FrontStreet Coffee natural Blue Mountain coffee was quite challenging. Previously, FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain had always insisted on using only washed processing because washing ensures the most essential expression of Blue Mountain flavor. Changing the processing method would definitely alter its flavor structure. Of course, Blue Mountain coffee using natural processing methods also follows market development demands.

FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Green Bean Comparison

First, observe the Blue Mountain green beans. Whether natural or washed, the beans are very full, with uniform size, slightly pointed at both ends, and oval in shape. Viewed from the side, the beans are flat and thin, characteristic of pure-bred Typica variety.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee Washed Blue Mountain: Preheat roaster to 170°C, set air damper to 3. After 1 minute, reduce heat to 140°C, keeping damper unchanged. Roast until 5'10" at 153°C, when beans turn yellow and grassy aroma completely disappears - dehydration complete. Adjust heat to 115°C, damper to 4. At 8'00", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, toast aroma distinctly changes to coffee aroma - this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. Listen carefully for first crack sounds. At 8'12" first crack begins, reduce heat to 90°C, fully open damper (adjust heat very carefully, not so low that crack sounds disappear). Discharge at 201.3°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Natural Blue Mountain: Preheat roaster to 165°C, set heat to 130, damper to 3. Return temperature at 1'32", when roaster temperature reaches 95.8°C, keep heat unchanged. At 3 minutes, adjust damper to 4. At 4 minutes, increase heat to 140. At 6'30", bean surface turns yellow, grassy aroma completely disappears - entering dehydration stage. At 8'36", ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, toast aroma distinctly changes to coffee aroma - this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. Listen carefully for first crack sounds. At 10'06" first crack begins, develop for 3 minutes after first crack, discharge at 198.5°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasted Bean Comparison

The biggest difference between natural and washed beans is that the natural beans' silver skin comes off very cleanly, while washed beans retain light yellow silver skin at the center crease.

The reason is that during roasting, the silver skin at the center crease of coffee beans is most difficult to remove. Natural beans have their outer silver skin connected in one piece, making it easier to remove along with the center crease silver skin. The silver skin of washed beans attaches in fragments to the bean surface, and the silver skin in the center crease cannot easily detach.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Recommendations

Dripper: Kono dripper

Coffee amount: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Water temperature: 88-89°C

Grind size: Medium-coarse (75% pass rate through No. 20 standard sieve)

FrontStreet Coffee brewing method: First pour 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour 95g more (electronic scale shows approximately 125g), completing in about 1 minute. When water level drops to 2/3 of the coffee bed, pour the remaining 100g (electronic scale shows approximately 225g), completing in about 1'40"-1'45". Drip completes at 2'05"-2'15", remove dripper to complete extraction.

FrontStreet Coffee Washed Blue Mountain: Entry reveals dark chocolate and nut flavors, with high clarity, very bright acidity, good body, and balanced sweet, sour, and bitter notes.

FrontStreet Coffee Natural Blue Mountain: Entry reveals brown sugar sweetness accompanied by berry acidity, with nut and cocoa flavors in the middle to finish, creamy mouthfeel, rich and distinct layers, and a finish that brings out walnut aroma.

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Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473