Characteristics of Blue Mountain Coffee, Origin of Blue Mountain Coffee, Brewing Techniques for Blue Mountain Coffee Beans, Specialty Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee refers to coffee brewed from coffee beans grown in Jamaica's Blue Mountains. These are categorized by grade into Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee and Jamaica High Mountain Coffee. The Blue Mountain range is located in eastern Jamaica, surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. On clear days when sunlight shines directly on the azure sea, the peaks reflect the brilliant blue glow of the seawater, hence its name. The highest peak of Blue Mountain reaches 2256 meters, making it the highest peak in the Caribbean region and a famous tourist destination. This area lies within the coffee belt, featuring fertile volcanic soil, fresh and unpolluted air, a humid climate with year-round fog and rainfall (average precipitation of 1980mm, temperature around 27°C). Such climate conditions have created the world-renowned Jamaica Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee, as well as the world's second most expensive coffee. This coffee possesses all the characteristics of fine coffee - not only is it rich and mellow in flavor, but due to the perfect balance of sweetness, acidity, and bitterness, it has no bitter taste at all, with only moderate and perfect acidity.

Basic Information

Chinese Name: Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee | English Name: Blue Mountain Coffee | Origin: Jamaica Blue Mountains | Achievement: One of the world's most expensive coffees | Harvest Period: June to November | Cultivation Method: Hand-picked

Table of Contents

1. Production
2. Origin
3. History
4. Geography
5. Classification
6. Unique Flavor
7. Sales
8. Benefits
9. Quality Assurance
10. Special Preparation
11. Premium Coffee

Production

The "secret" to Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee's pure flavor: all their coffee trees grow on rugged mountain slopes, making harvesting extremely difficult. Only skilled local women workers can handle this challenging task. Selecting coffee beans at just the right ripeness is crucial - underripe or overripe beans will affect the coffee quality. After harvesting, the coffee beans must be hulled the same day, then fermented for 12-18 hours. Following this, the beans undergo washing and sorting. The next step is drying, which must be done on concrete floors or thick blankets until the bean moisture content drops to 12%-14%. They are then stored in specialized warehouses for aging. When needed, they are taken out for roasting and then ground into powder. These procedures must be strictly controlled, otherwise the coffee quality will be affected.

Origin

When Jamaica is mentioned, everyone's eyes light up because it produces the world's finest "Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee." We absolutely believe that Jamaica Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee is the ultimate coffee - its acidity, sweetness, richness, and bitterness are perfectly balanced, with aromatic flavor and exceptionally smooth taste. However, its price is quite high. While worth trying, there's no need to be obsessed with it, because other premium coffees each have their own characteristics, delicious flavors, and reasonable prices - these are truly good coffees for our daily lives.

The earliest "Jamaica Blue Mountain" referred to coffee produced by "Wallenford Estate" and "Silver Hill Estate," with the former being of the highest quality. Today's Jamaica Blue Mountain refers to coffee beans grown in the Blue Mountain region (over 1000 meters altitude) east of Jamaica's capital, Kingston. Currently, Mavis Bank is the largest estate, with its wooden barrels marked M.B.C.F., and its products are commonly found in Taiwan. Jamaica Blue Mountain's quality control is extremely strict, with certification work handled by the government's "Coffee Industry Board."

Coffee beans grown at lower altitudes and other regions can only be called "Jamaica High Mountain Beans" or "Jamaica Washed Beans." Compared to Jamaica Blue Mountain, their flavors differ significantly. However, these growing areas are twice as large as the true Blue Mountain region and account for 75% of the country's production, so when buying Jamaica coffee, don't assume you're getting Blue Mountain coffee.

Due to Jamaica Blue Mountain's great reputation, counterfeit Blue Mountain-style coffees or simply labeled "Blue Mountain Coffee" have appeared on the market. These are essentially blends created by shop owners themselves, possibly containing no genuine Jamaica Blue Mountain beans at all.

History

In 1717, French King Louis XV ordered coffee cultivation in Jamaica. Twenty years later, Jamaica's Governor Sir Nicholas Lawes imported Arabica seeds from Martinique and began promoting cultivation in the St. Andrew area. To this day, St. Andrew remains one of Jamaica's three major Blue Mountain coffee producing regions, with the other two being Portland and St. Thomas. Within 8 years, Jamaica exported over 375 tons of pure coffee. In 1932, coffee production reached its peak, with harvests exceeding 15,000 tons.

In 1950, the Jamaican government established the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board, which sets quality standards for Jamaican coffee and oversees their implementation to ensure coffee quality. The board grants special official seals to Jamaica's exported raw and roasted coffee, making it the world's highest-level national coffee institution. Six official marks can represent Blue Mountain coffee origin: Mavis Bank Coffee Factory (M.B.C.F.), Blue Mountain Coffee Co-op (M.H.C.C.T.), Portland Blue Mountain Coffee Co-op (P.X.X.S.H.), Coffee Industry Association (Wallenford), Coffee Industry Association (St. John's Peak), and J.A.S.

By 1969, conditions had improved through Japanese loans that enhanced production quality, ensuring market stability. Today, this coffee has reached a status of enthusiastic devotion.

By 1981, Jamaica had opened approximately 1,500 hectares of land for coffee cultivation, followed by an additional 6,000 hectares of coffee land. In fact, today's Blue Mountain region is a small area with only 6,000 hectares of cultivation, making it impossible for all coffee labeled "Blue Mountain" to be grown there. Another 12,000 hectares are used for growing two other types of coffee: High Mountain Supreme and Jamaica Prime Washed.

Geography

Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee is the world's finest coffee, with Jamaica's weather, geological structure, and topography jointly providing ideal conditions. The mountain range running through Jamaica extends to the eastern part of the island, with the Blue Mountain range reaching over 2,100 meters. The weather is cool, foggy, with frequent rainfall, nurturing this fertile soil with rain. Coffee trees are grown here using mixed cultivation methods, accompanying banana and avocado trees on terraces. Some small estates also cultivate coffee. However, even the largest estate owners in this region are considered small-scale by international standards, with many being small landowners whose families have worked the land for two centuries. Jamaica's coffee industry faces challenges such as hurricane impacts, rising labor costs, and difficulties in mechanizing terrace farming. Many small estates and farms struggle to rationalize their cultivation.

Due to Japan's continuous investment in Jamaica's coffee industry, most Blue Mountain coffee is controlled by Japanese buyers, who also have priority purchasing rights. In 1992, Jamaica sold 688 tons of Blue Mountain coffee to Japan, 75 tons to the United States, and 59 tons to the United Kingdom. 90% of Blue Mountain coffee is purchased by Japanese buyers. Since the rest of the world can only access 10% of Blue Mountain production, Blue Mountain coffee is always in short supply regardless of price.

Classification

Jamaica has three coffee varieties:

Blue Mountain Coffee

(Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee) - Both Blue Mountain and High Mountain coffees are each divided into four grades. From highest to lowest quality: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB (Peaberry). According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters altitude can be called authentic Frontsteet Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee.

High Mountain Coffee

(Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee Beans) - Coffee produced below 666 meters in Jamaica's Blue Mountain region is called High Mountain Coffee. It's second only to Blue Mountain in quality and is known in the industry as Blue Mountain's sibling variety. Due to Blue Mountain's extremely limited production, if you want to taste Jamaican coffee flavor, Jamaica High Mountain Coffee is your best choice.

Jamaica Coffee

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

Unique Flavor

From the above, we can understand the general production situation of Blue Mountain Coffee. It's important to note that 99.9% of Blue Mountain coffee available in China is grown only near the Blue Mountain range. Only coffee produced in the 6,000 hectares above 1,600 meters can be called authentic Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee, and production has never exceeded 900 tons. Following the principle of supplying 10% to the entire world outside Japan, can this coffee, which only allows global consumption of 90 tons annually, be something you can drink for just a few dozen yuan at any coffee shop?

The finest Blue Mountain Coffee is undoubtedly among the world's best coffees. While price can ensure adequate supply of Blue Mountain Coffee, it cannot guarantee the best flavor. Additionally, this coffee tastes much more expensive than it appears. To experience its best flavor, you need to use more coffee beans than with other coffees, otherwise the flavor falls short. The flavor expression requires 10%-15% more coffee beans than coffees with lower prices.

Authentic Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee is made from the finest local raw coffee beans, which is where connoisseurs find their pleasure. Its flavor is rich, balanced, and fruity with acidity, meeting people's various needs. Furthermore, high-quality fresh Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee has particularly lasting flavor, much like wine enthusiasts describe as an endless aftertaste.

The best Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee beans are NO.1 peaberry, also called pearl beans, which are carefully selected small round beans from products at 2,100 meters altitude - the cream of the crop.

Flavor Characteristics

Aroma: Extremely rich with persistent fruitiness

Bean Size: Relatively full and plump

Roasting Method: Medium roast

Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee has very low caffeine content, less than half of other coffees, aligning with modern health concepts. No matter where the same coffee variety is planted - whether in Hawaii with similar climate, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, or anywhere else - it cannot produce the flavor of Blue Mountain Coffee beans.

Pure Jamaica Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee perfectly blends coffee's unique acidity, bitterness, sweetness, and richness into a strongly appealing elegant aroma that other coffees cannot match. Blue Mountain Coffee enthusiasts say: "It's a 'coffee beauty' that combines all the advantages of good coffee." Jim, general manager of Pete's Company, famous for coffee and tea, described Blue Mountain Coffee: "Its aroma is fragrant, smooth, and rich - it feels as precious as a gem to me. Precisely because Blue Mountain Coffee's flavor is moderate and perfect, it's generally consumed as black coffee." Its liquid appears golden under sunlight and drinks very smoothly. Coffee books say that Blue Mountain is the only coffee in the world that combines both acidity and bitterness in an enjoyable way. You'll understand once you drink it.

Important Notice :

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