Coffee Basics: Types, Brands, and Characteristics of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

Whether you're young or old, FrontStreet Coffee believes you must have heard of Blue Mountain coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is the finest among specialty coffees—sounds quite prestigious, doesn't it? In the past, drinking a cup of Blue Mountain coffee might have felt like a luxury, and even today, it's still somewhat expensive. Many products on the market claim to be Blue Mountain coffee, but are they all authentic? What exactly is Blue Mountain coffee? FrontStreet Coffee is here to share some knowledge about Blue Mountain coffee with everyone.

Understanding Blue Mountain Coffee's Value

First, let's explore just how expensive Blue Mountain coffee really is. At FrontStreet Coffee, a cup of authentic Blue Mountain coffee costs only 60 yuan, or 158 yuan per 100g, offering an exceptional tasting experience. Some might ask: Is this real Blue Mountain coffee? Absolutely, because authentic Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee comes with certification. FrontStreet Coffee imports Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee directly from its origin, and currently, the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board can issue certificates for all exported Blue Mountain coffee.

The Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 coffee sold by FrontStreet Coffee comes with certificates issued by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board. Additionally, the wooden barrels packaging Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans feature a green frog logo. FrontStreet Coffee specifically selects Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 coffee from Clifton Farm, a plantation with Rainforest Alliance certification. Jamaica is also the only origin that uses wooden barrels for storing green coffee beans. What's more, it features the most iconic Blue Mountain flavor—authentic Blue Mountain coffee has a very intense aroma, balanced taste, with no particular flavor being overpowering or lacking.

The Evolution of Jamaica's Coffee Export Policy

The Jamaican government used to insist that all Blue Mountain coffee be roasted in Jamaica to ensure consistent quality. In reality, roasting is a refined art that requires experience, training, and expensive equipment. From a consumer's perspective, coffee beans should be obtained and consumed immediately after roasting. Coffee roasted in Jamaica cannot meet this requirement. Today, Jamaica's green coffee beans can now be exported.

The History of Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 Coffee

Jamaica's coffee history dates back to the 18th century. In 1717, French King Louis XV ordered coffee cultivation 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 Mountains, which were divided into different elevations producing Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, High Mountain coffee, and Jamaica coffee, with different grades determining different prices.

The Three Major Growing Regions of Blue Mountain Coffee

The Blue Mountain region is a small area with only 6,000 hectares of planting area, making it impossible for all coffee labeled "Blue Mountain" to be grown there. An additional 12,000 hectares are used for growing two other types of coffee (non-Blue Mountain): High Mountain Supreme coffee and Jamaica Prime coffee.

Today's St. Andrew region remains one of the three major growing regions for Blue Mountain coffee, with the other two being Portland and St. Thomas regions. Some small estates also grow Blue Mountain coffee, such as Wallenford Estate, Silver Hill Estate, and J. Martinez's Atlanta Estate. Even the largest estate owners in this region are considered small-scale by international standards, with many being small landowners whose families have worked this land for two centuries.

Blue Mountain Coffee Processing and Certification

Currently, there are 6 certification marks that can represent Blue Mountain coffee origin, including M.B.C.E (Mavis Bank Central Factory), M.H.C.C.T. (Blue Mountain Coffee Co-operative), P.X.X.S.H. (Portland Blue Mountain Coffee Co-operative), Coffee Industry Board (Wallenford), Coffee Industry Board (St. John's Peak), and J.A.S (Jami), with some estate-level coffees also noted on their wooden barrels.

Jamaica is the only country in the world with a government coffee regulatory body—the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (CIB), under Jamaica's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The CIB's functions include cultivation guidance, processing training, fair trade, quality supervision, and other matters related to Jamaica Blue Mountain quality and branding. CIB board members are estate owners who own significant amounts of plantation land in Jamaica (due to industry shifts, newly certified Jamaica Blue Mountain estates now require 50+ hectares). CIB regulations state that only coffee beans grown above 2,200 feet in Jamaica's Blue Mountains can be called Jamaica Blue Mountain, with grades classified by bean size as NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and hand-selected PB (Peaberry). NO.1 Blue Mountain green beans must meet basic standards of 17+ screen size, defect rate below 3%, moisture content around 13%, etc. With low production, large bean size, excellent quality, and harmonious flavor balancing appropriate acidity, bitterness, aroma, body, and sweetness, it's recognized worldwide as a premium coffee, making Blue Mountain No.1 the most expensive of all Blue Mountain coffees.

Major Blue Mountain Coffee Companies

Another noteworthy company is Coffee Trades, with estate name CLYDESDALE, whose coffee factory is located in the backyard of the CIB office building, with their estate on the Blue Mountains at around 1,200 meters elevation. Jamaica's other two most prominent Blue Mountain coffee companies are Wallenford and Mavis Bank. Both companies were originally state-owned enterprises. Wallenford's production exceeds 60% of all Jamaica Blue Mountain production, while Mavis Bank's production exceeds 20%. Mavis Bank is also one of the few Jamaica Blue Mountain companies that handles all three grades: Jamaica Blue Mountain, Jamaica High Mountain, and Jamaica Select coffee.

Blue Mountain Coffee Varieties

Coffee beans worldwide are mainly divided into three species: Arabica, Robusta, and Liberica. The Blue Mountain coffee imported by FrontStreet Coffee is of the Typica variety. Typica is the oldest Arabica subspecies, with bronze-colored leaf tips, oval or slender-pointed beans, tall trees with slightly inclined branches at 50-70 degree angles, known as red-topped coffee. The coffee tree's opposite leaves are long oval with smooth surfaces, long terminal branches with few lateral branches, and white flowers that bloom at the base where leaf stems connect to branches. It offers elegant flavor but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and very low yield per tree. Mature coffee cherries look like bright red cherries. However, Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee's weak disease resistance, low yield, and susceptibility to insect attacks are among the reasons for its high price.

How Blue Mountain Coffee is Graded

Coffee from Jamaica's Blue Mountain region has three grades: Blue Mountain Coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee Beans, and Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans. Both Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are each divided into two grades. Ranked by quality from highest to lowest: Blue Mountain No.1, Blue Mountain No.2, High Mountain No.1, High Mountain No.2, Jamaica Coffee.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

Both Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are each divided into four grades. Ranked by quality from highest to lowest: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB (Peaberry). According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters elevation in Jamaica's Blue Mountains can be called Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. This is the finest among coffee treasures, produced in mountains above 1,000 meters in Jamaica's Blue Mountains. Due to the steep mountain terrain, production is low, but beans are large with excellent quality and harmonious flavor, balancing appropriate acidity, bitterness, aroma, body, and sweetness. It's recognized worldwide as a premium coffee, making national treasure Blue Mountain No.1 the most expensive of all Blue Mountain coffees.

Jamaica High Mountain Coffee

Coffee grown below 666 meters in Jamaica's Blue Mountain region is called High Mountain Coffee, and it's the second best quality after Blue Mountain Coffee. Due to the extremely limited production of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, if you want to taste Jamaican coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Coffee is your best choice.

Jamaica Coffee

Coffee grown outside the Blue Mountains is called Jamaica Coffee. Previously, Chinese coffee professionals had a common misconception that only coffee grown above 1,800 meters in the Blue Mountain region could be called Blue Mountain Coffee. In fact, there's only one estate above 1,800 meters in the Blue Mountain crest: Amber, owned by a Chinese descendant with the surname Lyn (Lin), whose ancestors came from Guangdong, China. This estate has only 30 hectares of land with very limited production. Blue Mountain Coffee is mainly distributed across five mountains in the Blue Mountains: John Crow, St. John's Peak, Mossman's Peak, High Peak, and Blue Mountain Peak.

Both Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are each divided into four grades. Ranked by quality from highest to lowest: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB (Peaberry). According to CIB standards, only coffee grown between 1,000-1,700 meters elevation can be called Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. With low production, large bean size, excellent quality, and harmonious flavor balancing appropriate acidity, bitterness, aroma, body, and sweetness, it's recognized worldwide as a premium coffee, making national treasure Blue Mountain No.1 the most expensive of all Blue Mountain coffees.

Grade Specifications:

• (1) No.1 - 17/18 screen size, defect rate not exceeding 2%
• (2) No.2 - 16/17 screen size, defect rate not exceeding 2%
• (3) No.3 - 15/16 screen size, defect rate not exceeding 2%
• (4) Peaberry - 10MS, defect rate not exceeding 2%

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain No.1 Coffee Bean Processing

Before this year, Blue Mountain No.1 coffee was only available in washed processing. The washed method uses water and fermentation to remove pulp, mucilage, and parchment. Farms using the washed method must build washing tanks and have access to continuous fresh water. During processing, pulp is first removed, followed by 12-18 hours of fermentation. Then the fermented beans are placed in tanks and moved back and forth, using the friction of beans and flowing water to wash the coffee beans until smooth and clean. After washing, coffee beans are still in their parchment with 50% moisture content and must be sun-dried to reduce moisture to 12-14%, otherwise they will continue to ferment and become moldy and spoiled. Afterward, coffee beans are sorted and stored in special warehouses. These procedures must be strictly controlled, otherwise 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 was among the first to import and roast it. The production of this natural Blue Mountain coffee was quite challenging. Previously, only washed processing was used because washing best preserves the essential Blue Mountain flavor characteristics. Changing processing methods will inevitably alter its flavor structure. This is why FrontStreet Coffee always recommends washed-processed coffee beans when introducing customers to coffee from specific origins—because washed processing best represents the origin's flavor. Of course, Blue Mountain coffee adopting natural processing follows market development trends, just as FrontStreet Coffee recently added a natural Mandheling coffee bean, different from the traditional wet-hulled method.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brewing Recommendations:

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans for brewing to fully experience the rich coffee flavors. Coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are roasted within 5 days because FrontStreet Coffee understands that bean freshness greatly affects flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring every customer receives the freshest coffee when their order arrives. The coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at peak flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee considered that both Blue Mountain beans use a relatively dark roast degree. The darker the roast, the faster coffee compounds dissolve. To avoid over-extraction, FrontStreet Coffee uses lower water temperature for extraction while also using the slower-flow Kono dripper to ensure adequate coffee extraction even at lower water temperatures.

Brewing Parameters:

• Dripper: Kono dripper
• Water Temperature: 88°C
• Dose: 15g
• Ratio: 1:15
• Grind Size: Medium grind (75% retention rate on China standard #20 sieve)
• Brewing Method: Three-stage extraction. Use 30g water for bloom for 30 seconds, then pour with small circular motion to 125g for the first split. When the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop pouring. Wait until all coffee liquid has dripped through, then remove the dripper. Timing starts from the first pour, with total extraction time of 2'00".

Flavor Descriptions

[FrontStreet Coffee Natural Blue Mountain Coffee] Slight berry acidity, reminiscent of dark plum and mulberry, with excellent overall balance, rich dark chocolate and nut flavors, with a slight fermented note.

[FrontStreet Coffee Washed Blue Mountain Coffee] Rich dark chocolate and nut flavors, creamy smooth texture, with balanced acidity, sweetness, and bitterness.

The final step is to swirl the server holding the coffee liquid to ensure uniform concentration mixing, and then you can enjoy a delicious cup of Blue Mountain coffee!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473