Is Blue Mountain Coffee Bad to Drink? The Origin Story of Jamaican Coffee and Why Blue Mountain Beans Are So Expensive

Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1

Country of Origin: Jamaica

Estate: Clifton Mountain Farm

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Typica

Roast Level: Medium-Dark

Altitude: 2000 meters

According to SCA recommendations, pour-over coffee should use 15g of coffee grounds with 90-91°C hot water to make 225ml, with a water-to-coffee ratio of 1:15.

The History of Jamaican Coffee

The history of Jamaican coffee can be traced back to the 18th century. In 1717, French King Louis XV 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 region, introducing coffee trees to Jamaica and planting them in the Blue Mountains.

The flavor profile is characterized by a perfect balance of coffee's sweetness, acidity, and bitterness, resulting in absolutely no bitter taste, with only moderate and perfect acidity.

The Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains are located in the eastern part of Jamaica. When the weather is clear, the mountains are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, and direct sunlight reflects off the azure sea surface, causing the peaks to reflect the brilliant blue light of the seawater, hence their name. The highest peak of the Blue Mountains reaches 2256 meters above sea level, 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, no 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, as well as the world's highest-priced coffee.

True Blue Mountain coffee is one of the most优越ly cultivated coffees in the world. Jamaica's weather, geological structure, and terrain together provide an uniquely ideal environment. Designated Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee can only be grown in the Blue Mountain region, north of Kingston in the eastern part of the island. The mountain ridge extending across Jamaica reaches the eastern part of the small island, with the Blue Mountains reaching over 2100 meters. The cool, foggy, and frequently rainy weather makes this fertile land well-balanced with rainfall.

Here, people use mixed cultivation methods to grow coffee trees, planting them on terraces alongside banana and avocado trees.

Processing Methods

Before this year, Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee was only available in washed processing. The washed method involves using water and fermentation to remove the fruit pulp and mucilage.

Farms using the washed method must build washing pools and be able to引进源源不绝的活水. During processing, the fruit pulp is first removed, then fermented for 12-18 hours. After fermentation is complete, the beans are 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 they are smooth and clean.

After washing, the coffee beans are still encased in parchment with a moisture content of 50%. They must be sun-dried to reduce the moisture content to 12-14%; otherwise, they will continue to ferment and become 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.

In 2020, the Blue Mountain region also exported a batch of natural-processed Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee. FrontStreet Coffee also imported and roasted it immediately. The production of this natural Blue Mountain coffee was quite challenging. Previously, only washed processing was available because washing ensures the most authentic expression of Blue Mountain flavor. Changing the processing method would definitely alter its flavor structure. This is also why FrontStreet Coffee, when introducing coffee beans from certain regions to customers, first recommends washed-processed coffee beans—because washing best represents the flavor of that region. Of course, Blue Mountain coffee using natural processing is more about following market developments.

Jamaica Coffee Industry Board

In 1950, the Jamaican government established the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board, the world's only government-managed coffee organization. This board sets quality standards for Jamaican coffee and supervises their implementation to ensure the quality of Jamaican coffee. The board grants special official seals to raw and roasted coffee exported from Jamaica, making it the world's highest-level national coffee institution.

There are six trademarks that can represent Blue Mountain coffee origin: Mavis Bank Coffee Factory (M.B.C.F), Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative (M.H.C.C.T.), Portland Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative (P.X.X.S.H.), Coffee Industry Association (Wallenford), Coffee Industry Association (St. John's Peak), and Janie's (J.A.S).

Important Notice :

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Tel:020 38364473