Introduction to Blue Mountain Coffee Grading and Classification - Is Blue Mountain Flavor Coffee a Specialty Coffee? Taste Characteristics of Blue Mountain Flavor Coffee

Those who frequently drink coffee certainly know that specialty coffees have corresponding grade classifications—the higher the grade, the better the coffee quality, and consequently, the higher the price. As one of the world's most famous high-quality specialty coffees, authentic FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee boasts elegant aroma and classic rich口感, tempting countless coffee enthusiasts, including FrontStreet Coffee, which is also one of its top fans.

Blue Mountain Coffee Grade Classification

Blue Mountain coffee has a strict grading system. The Jamaican government established a grading system to distinguish Blue Mountain coffee from ordinary Jamaican coffee. Only Typica variety coffee beans certified by the Jamaican Coffee Industry Board (JCIB), grown at altitudes between 910-1700 meters in the Blue Mountain range, are permitted to be called Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. The certified growing area covers only 6,000 hectares, including five Blue Mountain peaks: John Crow, St. John's Peak, Mossman's Peak, High Peak, and Blue Mountain Peak. This accounts for one-third of the entire Blue Mountain region, with only about 15% of Jamaica's total coffee production earning the prestigious Blue Mountain name. The higher the altitude, the greater the harvesting difficulty and the higher the labor management costs.

FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee variety is Typica, featuring elegant aroma, rich acidity, and sweetness. Typica is notoriously weak in disease resistance and low yield, leading many growing regions to abandon its cultivation. Compared to many growers who switched to high-yield varieties to increase production, Jamaica has consistently maintained large-scale cultivation of Typica in the Blue Mountain region. As the Blue Mountain area is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea with minimal human pollution, local Typica varieties have adapted to the Blue Mountain terroir over many years, evolving into varieties with stronger disease resistance than typical Typica and possessing Blue Mountain's unique flavor characteristics.

To ensure more stable coffee bean quality, during each harvest season, local women familiar with the terrain are arranged to climb the mountains and pick coffee cherries at optimal ripeness. Estates producing Blue Mountain coffee use washed processing, with multiple steps to remove defective beans, resulting in clearer Blue Mountain aroma. FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list uses washed processing and comes from Clifton Estate. Clifton Estate places freshly harvested coffee cherries in water tanks for flotation, removing the pulp and skin before fermentation. Overnight fermentation produces abundant acidic substances that separate the mucilage layer from the surface. The parchment beans are then dried in the sun until reaching target moisture content before being packaged and stored in warehouses for quality inspection. The washing process makes FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee beans' inherent flavor cleaner and more transparent, with more stable quality.

After drying, Blue Mountain green beans must be graded according to multiple evaluation criteria, including size, color, moisture content, and cup quality after roasting. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee can be classified into Blue Mountain No. 1, Blue Mountain No. 2, Blue Mountain No. 3, and Blue Mountain Peaberry based on different characteristics. Among these, Blue Mountain No. 1 is the highest grade and also the most common authentic Blue Mountain coffee available in China. Achieving higher-grade Blue Mountain coffee requires more human labor, with manual screening to eliminate substandard beans, which is why high-quality Blue Mountain coffee is so precious.

Authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

Many friends who order FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee at FrontStreet Coffee stores will ask whether the "Blue Mountain" on FrontStreet Coffee's bean list is "real Blue Mountain." Undeniably, due to Blue Mountain's prestigious reputation, many "fake Blue Mountain" products have appeared on the market, such as "Blue Mountain flavored coffee," "Blue Mountain blend," "Blue Mountain premium coffee"... To identify authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, FrontStreet Coffee has summarized the following points for your reference.

FrontStreet Coffee also summarized above that authentic Blue Mountain coffee is grown in specific altitude regions with very high labor costs, so the coffee price won't be too low. If the "Blue Mountain beans" we purchase cost only tens of yuan, they are very likely fake. For reference, FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee costs 158 yuan per 100g package.

In terms of aroma, FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee has rich, dense, and persistent chocolate and roasted hazelnut aroma that is difficult for ordinary dark roast blend coffees to match. In flavor, authentic FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee features balanced acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and aroma, with no single flavor being overly prominent, and both body and sweetness are perfectly balanced.

If we cannot distinguish through the above two points, we should ask the merchant to present Blue Mountain-related certificates and wooden barrels of Blue Mountain packaged green beans—Jamaican Blue Mountain is the only growing region that uses wooden barrels for green beans. FrontStreet Coffee's this FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee also possesses quality certification certificates issued by the Jamaican Coffee Board, authorized sales certificates issued by Blue Mountain coffee manufacturers, and certificates of origin for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. As for the wooden barrels, everyone can pay attention when drinking coffee at FrontStreet Coffee's Dongshankou store—you'll see them at the entrance on the right side~

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Flavor Characteristics

When we purchase a package of high-quality FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee beans, the first thing to study is, of course, how to brew it well. FrontStreet Coffee will now discuss FrontStreet Coffee's brewing approach using FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee from the bean shelf~

FrontStreet Coffee suggests using coffee beans within their optimal flavor window. If the roasting date has exceeded more than a month, some aroma may have been lost, and woody flavors might even develop. Coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are roasted within 5 days, so everyone should receive them at the most aromatic stage of their flavor window.

The classic Blue Mountain flavor features rich chocolate, roasted nuts, and other aromas, with soft acidity and rich body. FrontStreet Coffee's roaster to restore the classic flavor chose medium-dark roasting to enhance roasted aromas while preserving some acidity. FrontStreet Coffee in FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee bean cupping discovered balanced flavors of acidity, sweetness, aroma, bitterness, and body, so FrontStreet Coffee's barista also formulates corresponding brewing approaches based on this flavor direction.

FrontStreet Coffee's brewing parameters: KONO dripper, 20# standard sieve with 75% passage rate grind size, and 88°C water temperature, paired with FrontStreet Coffee's customary three-stage pouring. Coffee grounds: 15g, coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15.

Three-stage pouring: Use 30g of water to evenly moisten the coffee grounds and let bloom for 30 seconds. For the second stage, pour 95g of water evenly in circular motions from inside to outside until the water level drops to 2/3 of the filter's coffee grounds, then begin the third stage of 100g. Note to maintain small water flow throughout, and remove the dripper after approximately 2 minutes of drip completion. Finally, gently swirl the coffee liquid before tasting.

During the brewing process of FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee, you can smell rich roasted nuts and caramel aroma. Upon tasting, you'll experience dark chocolate and nutty sweetness, with various flavors intertwined and blended, creating a rich body and bright aftertaste. Temperature changes bring rich aromatic layers.

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