This Coffee Shop Could Rob You, But Instead Gave You an Iced Americano!

A Menu That Travels Through Time

Recently, a coffee menu went viral and took this writer 15 years back in time. Then, after seeing the prices, it seemed to send me straight into the future.

I never expected that in an age when coffee has become an everyday consumer beverage for the masses, a coffee shop would still be using such a "retro" menu — one whose pricing left everyone who saw it speechless.

After seeing the prices, I could not help but exclaim:

The owner could have simply robbed me, but instead chose to hand me an iced Americano.

From the menu, it is clear the shop mainly sells drip and brewed coffee plus espresso-based drinks, but the pricing and the coffee descriptions for each item are quite something. I could not resist breaking the menu down.

The Pricing Paradox

A latte or an iced Americano costs 68 yuan. But Blue Mountain coffee is only 58? For a moment I could not tell whether the owner was being generous, or whether the "Blue Mountain coffee" was really Blue Mountain-flavored coffee. In reality, those are two entirely different things — Blue Mountain-flavored coffee is not Blue Mountain coffee.

According to the standards of the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (CIB), only coffee grown in the Blue Mountain region at an altitude of 2,200 feet (approximately 670 meters) or above can be called "Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee." It is then graded by bean size and defect rate into Blue Mountain No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3.

The export of Blue Mountain coffee beans must go through companies designated by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board and be packed in wooden barrels with green beans. On export, the shipment is accompanied by the relevant certificates: a Quality Certificate issued by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board, an Authorized Sales Certificate issued by the Blue Mountain coffee manufacturer, and a Certificate of Origin for Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee.

Because annual production is limited, authentic Blue Mountain coffee is naturally not cheap. But its reputation is so strong that the market is full of products labeled "Blue Mountain flavor," "Blue Mountain coffee flavor" and the like, or inexpensive beans that look the part. These are not real Blue Mountain coffee.

If a business writes "Blue Mountain coffee" on its menu and you are unsure whether it is genuine, you can ask to see the relevant certificates for the beans. If they are real, 58 yuan per cup is actually quite good value. If not, the business has to bear the relevant legal responsibility, such as selling counterfeit goods.

Reading the Rest of the Menu

"Xiaoli coffee," or small-bean coffee, originally refers to Arabica beans. Judging by the flavor description the shop gives — a rich, mellow taste with moderate and perfect acidity — and the price, it is probably a small-bean coffee from Yunnan.

As for "Rose Lady Coffee," I am not sure whether it refers to a fairly traditional French flavored coffee called rose coffee — espresso as the base, frothed milk added, then cream squeezed in, and finally a drizzle of rose petal jam with rose petals as decoration.

About Tarrazú Highland Coffee: coffee beans from Costa Rica's Tarrazú region typically show soft acidity with nutty and caramel flavors. As for the use of the word "bitter," I can only say the owner is very confident about their products.

About Tres Rios Coffee: this too is a Costa Rican coffee. Tres Rios refers to Costa Rica's Tres Rios region, and the shop used a transliterated version of the region name that nearly stumped this writer.

Coffee from this region also has soft acidity with nutty and caramel flavors, yet the menu describes it as "rugged and profound," which once again left me marveling at the owner's courage. Truly.

The most reasonably priced item on the entire menu is probably the Kona coffee at the end — assuming it is genuinely from Kona, Hawaii. However, the situation in Hawaii has been unstable recently, and no Kona coffee has been exported through legitimate channels, so whether this coffee is authentic remains to be investigated.

Final Thoughts

After looking at this menu, I cannot say it is outrageous, but it does give you the feeling of traveling back and forth between the 1980s and 1990s and the future. As for "Latte Coffee Master Kang," many netizens commented, "Baishuishan and Nongfu Mountain Spring are not okay with this!!"

The menu also makes it clear that the owner is someone who adheres to traditional coffee. But today's coffee consumers have a far better understanding of coffee than they once did, and a menu like this is plainly out of step with the present.

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

This is exactly why the real thing is worth knowing. FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 is the highest grade in the Jamaican range, sourced from the historic Clifton Estate, which has been growing and processing coffee since around 1750. Its plots sit at an average of 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters), where ample altitude, gentle afternoon cloud that shades the trees, generous sunlight and mineral-rich soil all give the coffee trees excellent growing conditions and lengthen the ripening of the cherries.

Genuine Blue Mountain has no traceability code, but the importer holds complete export certification and origin documents, and the coffee has its own telltale green-bean characteristics: regular, plump beans with slightly raised ends and a green tint. Traditional Blue Mountain ships in wooden barrels, made natively and stamped with detailed lot information on the outside, in 15, 45 and 70-kilogram sizes — the barrel itself is one of the marks of the genuine article. Every FrontStreet Blue Mountain lot is roasted within 5 days, so the beans arrive still at their peak, and the medium-dark roast emphasizes the classic bittersweet character.

For brewing, FrontStreet suggests a Kono dripper to bring out the body, 15g per person with the beans rested 4–7 days from the roast date, a grind slightly coarser than a light roast (about the texture of white sugar), 87–88°C water and a 1:15 ratio. Pour in three stages: 30g to bloom for 30 seconds, then to 120g with a slow, steady vertical stream, and finally to 225g with a slightly quicker flow and circling to avoid clogging the filter and over-extracting. The cup is clean, complex and very gentle, with chocolate sweetness, a strong body and the balanced acidity that made Blue Mountain famous.