FrontStreet Coffee · Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Beans

Estate: Clifton Farm
Altitude: 1310 meters
Processing Method: Washed
Variety: Typica
Roast Level: Medium-Dark
Flavor: Chocolate, nuts, cream, balanced acidity and bitterness

For many years, the top-tier Blue Mountain coffee, active at the pinnacle of the coffee world, has been praised by countless coffee enthusiasts for its balanced, smooth taste and rich coffee aroma. The so-called top-tier Blue Mountain coffee is Jamaica's national treasure coffee—FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans.

How Did Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Become "Famous"?

Jamaica's Blue Mountain range has created the world-renowned Blue Mountain coffee due to its excellent natural environment. Before the 1960s, Jamaica's coffee beans were already very popular in the entire coffee market.

In 1969, the entire island of Jamaica was severely affected by hurricane disasters. At this time, Japan's UCC company not only provided financial assistance to Jamaica but also introduced scientific ecological planting methods to restore the cultivation of Blue Mountain coffee. To thank the Japanese companies for their assistance, the Jamaican government signed a 30-year contract with Japan, promising to allocate 90% of Blue Mountain coffee's production quota to Japan, with the remaining 10% (about 245 tons) distributed to other markets for sale. As the saying goes, scarcity makes things valuable. Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee inherently has low supply, was later monopolized by trade, and was crazily marketed on the demand side, so prices naturally rose.

Actually, during the period of the agreement with Japan, Blue Mountain coffee was not completely consumed locally. They would sell some Blue Mountain coffee at high prices to other Asian countries and regions. Coupled with increased publicity efforts by the Japanese, coffee enthusiasts from many neighboring countries also began to pursue Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, such as Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong, China. Since 2000, the "Blue Mountain craze" has gradually spread to mainland China. Therefore, when we mention coffee to our elders, they always immediately think of the great name "Blue Mountain."

In 2008, during the global economic crisis, Jamaica attempted to sell Blue Mountain coffee to more countries, and coincidentally, the agreement with Japan also expired, distributing more of Blue Mountain coffee's quota to other countries. With the expansion of China's coffee market demand, many domestic merchants can now directly import Blue Mountain coffee beans from Jamaica. FrontStreet Coffee's Frontsteet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee is produced by the local historic Clifton Estate, using traditional washed processing.

What Grade is Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee?

According to Jamaica's "Coffee Industry Management Law," the cultivation area of Blue Mountain coffee is mainly distributed in four administrative regions: St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland, and St. Mary. It explicitly stipulates that only Typica coffee grown at altitudes of 910-1700 meters can be named Jamaica Blue Mountain. The total area of the four producing regions is about 6,000 hectares, accounting for 1/3 of the entire Blue Mountain cultivation area, while another 1,200 hectares of land are used for growing Jamaica High Mountain coffee and Jamaica Prime coffee. In recent years, less than 15% of coffee beans produced in Jamaica can be labeled as Blue Mountain coffee, which can be said to be extremely rare.

According to the strict regulations of the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (CIB), Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is divided into Blue Mountain No. 1, Blue Mountain No. 2, Blue Mountain No. 3, and Blue Mountain Peaberry. Among these, the highest grade Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans must meet specifications of 17 screen size or above, with defective bean ratio not exceeding 2%, moisture content around 10-12.5%, and exhibit appropriate acidity, sweetness, bitterness, body, and aroma during cupping. As one can imagine, the quantity of such premium coffee beans with refined flavors is extremely limited.

To better maintain the moisture content of raw coffee beans during transportation, Jamaica uses handcrafted round wooden barrels to package raw beans of Blue Mountain No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 for export. There are three specifications: 70kg, 30kg, and 15kg. Other grades of Jamaican coffee are exported in 60kg burlap bags.

FrontStreet Coffee's Frontsteet Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is the highest grade Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans, from Clifton Estate, using traditional washed processing. To allow everyone to observe and identify authentic Frontsteet Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee with their own eyes, FrontStreet Coffee displays wooden barrels containing raw beans and certificates of origin issued by Clifton Estate in their stores.

Clifton Estate

Founded in the 1790s, Clifton Estate is one of Jamaica's oldest coffee farms and is also a member of the Rainforest Alliance certified. If you observe the round wooden barrels of Blue Mountain raw beans, you can see the green rainforest tree frog logo printed on them.

Clifton Estate is situated on the scenic Clifton Mountain, with coffee cultivation areas and processing facilities at an altitude of about 1310 meters. The high altitude creates a certain temperature difference, extending the maturity of coffee cherries and allowing sufficient time to absorb nutrients. The entire coffee production process adheres to sustainable environmental protection concepts, minimizing various types of pollution. The removed coffee pulp is converted into organic fertilizer, and the water used in the processing plant is also recycled.

Washed Processing

Clifton Estate puts harvested coffee cherries into water pools, using the flotation method to separate mature beans from immature ones. Then, the water flow in the conveyor belt sends mature coffee cherries into the depulper to remove the fruit skin. The depulped coffee beans with mucilage and parchment are then placed in water pools for fermentation. After the mucilage ferments, the agitation of water flow removes mucilage residue. The clean coffee beans with parchment are then dried to a certain moisture content before being placed in warehouses for storage. The washed processing reduces the defect rate of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, resulting in brighter and cleaner flavors while maintaining more stable quality.

How to Brew Frontsteet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee for Great Taste

The Jamaica Coffee Industry Board recommends a roast degree that highlights the traditional flavors of Blue Mountain. FrontStreet Coffee's roasters also follow this principle, using a medium-dark roast that allows Frontsteet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee to present richness while retaining light fruit acidity.

As the roast level deepens, the texture of coffee beans becomes more porous, and after grinding into powder, they easily absorb more water and release more soluble substances, which can lead to over-extraction. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee's baristas recommend using medium grind size and not too high water temperature. Here, water temperature of 87-88 degrees Celsius is used, and the coffee powder is selected with a coarseness that achieves 75% passing rate through a China No. 20 standard sieve.

To highlight the rich and round mouthfeel of Frontsteet Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee, FrontStreet Coffee uses a KONO coffee filter for extraction. The ribs of the KONO don't reach half the height of the filter cup. This design is actually to ensure that after wetting, it closely adheres to the filter cup wall, restricting airflow. This increases the water absorption time of coffee powder particles, resulting in more uniform overall extraction.

Brewing parameters:

15g powder, powder-to-water ratio 1:15, grind size: EK43s setting 10.5 (75% passing rate through China No. 20 standard sieve), water temperature: 87-88°C, brewing method: segmented extraction.

Place the filter paper in the KONO filter cup, pour water to wet the filter paper while making it fit better. Pour in the coffee powder and tap gently to distribute the powder layer evenly. For the first segment, gently pour 30g of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds. For the second segment, pour to about 125g of water, moving evenly and steadily in outward circles. Then wait for the coffee liquid to drop, and when it drops to half, pour the final segment of water to 225g. After waiting for all the coffee to drip through, the total extraction time is generally about 2 minutes.

Flavor of hand-poured Frontsteet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee: At high temperature, Frontsteet Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee enters with dark chocolate aroma, very rich, with obvious almond aftertaste. As the temperature decreases, roasted hazelnut and cream become sweet and silky, accompanied by a hint of soft acidity and caramel sweetness, with the aroma lingering persistently in the mouth.

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473