Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee: Varieties, Flavor Profiles, Taste Characteristics, Growing Regions & Premium Coffee Guide

Flavor: Rich and intense aroma with persistent fruity notes;
Bean Size: Relatively full;
Recommended Roasting: Medium roast;

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee has very low caffeine content, less than half of other coffees, aligning with modern health concepts. The same coffee tree species, regardless of whether planted in similar climates like Hawaii, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, or anywhere else, cannot produce the flavor of Blue Mountain coffee beans.

Pure Jamaican FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee perfectly blends the unique sour, bitter, sweet, and mellow flavors of coffee, creating an intensely appealing elegant aroma that other coffees cannot match.

Blue Mountain coffee lovers say: "It is the 'coffee beauty' that combines all the advantages of good coffee."

Jim, the general manager of Peet's Coffee & Tea, famous for coffee and tea, described Blue Mountain coffee: "Its flavor is aromatic, smooth, and mellow, making me feel as precious as a gem." It is precisely because Blue Mountain coffee's flavor is moderate and perfect that Blue Mountain coffee is generally consumed as black coffee.

"Its liquid is golden in the sunlight, and it's very smooth to drink. Coffee books say that Blue Mountain is the only coffee in this world that combines both sour and bitter flavors that people can enjoy. You'll understand once you drink it."

The "Secret" of Blue Mountain Coffee

Why FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee tastes so pure - the "secret": Their coffee trees all grow on rugged mountain slopes, making the harvesting process extremely difficult. Only local skilled female workers can handle this job. It is very important to select just-right ripe coffee beans during harvesting; underripe or overripe beans will affect the coffee quality. After harvesting, coffee beans must be hulled on the same day, then fermented for 12-18 hours. After that, the coffee beans are washed and screened. The next step is drying, which must be done on concrete floors or thick blankets until the coffee bean moisture drops to 12%-14%. Then they are stored in special warehouses. 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.

The best Blue Mountain coffee is undoubtedly one of the best coffees available. Although the price guarantees sufficient supply of Blue Mountain coffee, it cannot guarantee the best flavor. Also, this coffee tastes much more expensive than it looks. To taste its best flavor, you need to use more coffee beans than other coffees; otherwise, the flavor won't quite match. Therefore, to express its flavor, you need to add 10% to 15% more coffee beans than coffees that are lower in price.

Varieties

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee variety is Typica.

Typica has bronze-colored top leaves, oval or slender-pointed beans, tall tree bodies with slightly inclined branches at 50-70 degree angles. It has elegant flavor but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and very low fruit yield per tree.

The Typica variety has a characteristic - its leaf tips are copper-colored, known as red-top coffee. The coffee tree's opposite leaves are long-oval with smooth surfaces, long terminal branches with few side branches. The flowers are white, blooming at the base where leaf stems connect to branches. Mature coffee cherries look like cherries and are bright red.

How Did Japan Get Priority Purchasing Rights?

When it comes to Blue Mountain coffee, everyone knows that in the early days, a large portion was purchased by Japan, making it difficult to find Blue Mountain coffee outside Japan. There's quite a history to this!

In 1950, the Jamaican government established the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board, which sets quality standards for Jamaican coffee and monitors the implementation of these standards to ensure Jamaican coffee quality. The board grants special official seals to Jamaican exported raw and roasted coffee. Because Japanese loans were used to improve production quality, market access was guaranteed.

By 1981, Jamaica had developed about 1,500 hectares of land for coffee cultivation, followed by investment in another 6,000 hectares of coffee land. In fact, today's Blue Mountain region is a small area with only 6,000 hectares of planting area, making it impossible for all coffees labeled "Blue Mountain" to be grown there. Another 12,000 hectares are used for growing two other types of coffee: High Mountain Supreme coffee and Jamaican coffee.

According to 2013 Jamaican Coffee Board export statistics, of the limited Blue Mountain coffee bean quota, 85% is exported to Japan, 5% to the United States, 5% to Europe, and 5% to other countries. However, in global authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee consumption distribution, according to International Coffee Association statistics, China accounts for 15% of consumption. This is because some Japanese, Australian, and European Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee portions are exported to Taiwan through directly operated subsidiaries.

Classification and Grading of Blue Mountain:

Jamaican coffee history can be traced back to the 18th century when the British introduced coffee tree species to Jamaica, planting coffee in the Blue Mountains. It's further divided into high-altitude Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, Jamaican High Mountain coffee, and Jamaican coffee, with different grades determining different prices.

(1) Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

Among them, Blue Mountain coffee and High Mountain coffee are each divided into four grades. In terms of quality, from top to bottom: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB (PB being peaberries). According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters altitude can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee; the best among the best, coffee produced in the Blue Mountain region of Jamaica at approximately 2000-2256m altitude, due to its location on dangerous mountainsides, has low yield, large beans with excellent quality and balanced flavor, combining appropriate sour, bitter, fragrant, mellow, and sweet tastes. It's recognized worldwide as premium coffee, so the price of national treasure Blue Mountain No.1 is the highest among all Blue Mountain coffees.

(2) Jamaican High Mountain Coffee

Coffee produced in the Blue Mountain region below 666 meters is called High Mountain coffee, which is second only to Blue Mountain coffee in quality and is known by industry insiders as Blue Mountain coffee's brother variety. Because Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee has extremely low production, if you want to taste Jamaican-flavored coffee, then Jamaican High Mountain coffee is your best choice.

(3) Jamaican Coffee

Coffee grown outside the Blue Mountain region is called Jamaican coffee. Originally, Chinese coffee operators generally had a misconception that only coffee grown in the Blue Mountain region above 1800 meters could be called Blue Mountain coffee. In fact, above 1800 meters on the Blue Mountain range, there is only one estate - Amber, owned by someone of Chinese descent with the surname Lyn (林), whose ancestors came from Guangdong, China. This estate has only 30 hectares of land with very low production. Blue Mountain coffee is mainly distributed in five mountain areas of the Blue Mountain range: John Crow, St. John's Peak, Mossman's Peak, High Peak, and Blue Mountain Peak.

Authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Has Certificate Authentication:

The Jamaican government used to insist that all Blue Mountain coffee should be roasted in Jamaica to ensure consistent quality. In fact, roasting is a delicate 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. Now, Jamaican raw coffee beans can be exported.

CIB

Jamaica is the only country in the world with a government coffee management agency - the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (CIB), affiliated with the Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. CIB's functions include cultivation technical guidance, processing training, fair trade, quality supervision, and other matters related to Jamaican Blue Mountain quality and brand. CIB board members are all estate owners in Jamaica who own significant-sized coffee estates (due to industry shifts, newly certified Jamaican Blue Mountain estates now require more than 50 hectares).

CIB stipulates that only Blue Mountain coffee beans produced in regions above 2200 feet in Jamaica can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain, with grades divided by bean size into NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and hand-selected PB. The basic standards for NO.1 Blue Mountain raw beans include beans above 17 screen size, defect rate below 3%, moisture content around 13%, etc. To date, Blue Mountain coffee raw beans have only one processing method - washed, with no sun-dried or other processing methods.

Currently, the Jamaican Coffee Board can issue certificates for all exported Blue Mountain coffee.

Three Types of Certificates:

(1) Quality proof certificate issued by the Jamaican Coffee Board

(2) Authorized sales certificate issued by Blue Mountain coffee manufacturers.

(Blue Mountain coffee is distributed by 4 Jamaican government-approved processing manufacturers and exported by 16 licensed exporters)

(3) Certificate of origin for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

Quality proof certificates indicate time and quantity. The Jamaican Coffee Board randomly selects a package from submitted Blue Mountain coffee for inspection. If it meets Blue Mountain coffee conditions, a certificate is issued.

FrontStreet Coffee recently imported Blue Mountain from the origin with this certificate.

Among all coffees, only Blue Mountain uses barrels for packaging; other coffees are exported in gunny sacks. It's said that this dates back to the mid-18th century during British colonial rule when flour was shipped from Britain to Jamaica, and empty barrels were recycled to transport coffee and rum. Today's wooden barrels are made from temperate forest wood from the United States. The advantage of wooden barrels is their ability to absorb and release internal and external humidity without major changes, alleviating sudden temperature changes during transportation. Additionally, barrel sealing isolates coffee aroma and can maintain the best coffee quality, but additional costs are relatively high.

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Suggestions

Simply put, roast FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee thoroughly "inside and out," and on the basis of roasting it well, use good roasting techniques to express the flavor of these beans.

Caramelization is the most significant step affecting coffee flavor. Raw beans, after six to seven minutes of roasting, absorb large amounts of heat energy, initiating pyrolysis reactions and producing the first crack sound. Some sugars convert to carbon dioxide, moisture continues to evaporate, new aromatic components gradually develop, forming so-called coffee oils, and combine with hundreds of aromatic substances including nicotinic acid, citric acid, quinic acid, malic acid, acetic acid, caffeine, and others.

Roasting Profile:

Set roaster temperature to 170°C, air damper at 3. After 1 minute, adjust heat to 140°C, air damper unchanged. At 5'10", temperature reaches 153°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, dehydration complete. Adjust heat to 115°C, air damper to 4;

At 8'00" minute, bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, toast smell clearly changes to coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, listen carefully for the first crack sound. At 8'12" first crack begins, adjust heat down to 90°C, air damper fully open (adjust heat very carefully, not too low to stop crack sounds). Remove from heat at 201.3°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain Coffee Cupping Flavor

Perfect and subtle balance of acidity, body, and aroma. Its acidity is bright and delicate. Its body is velvety smooth. Its aroma has slight penetrating quality with floral, spicy, and citrus notes. A hint of cocoa aftertaste appears in the mouth.

The flavor is very clean, complex, very mild, with chocolate sweetness and very strong body. Rich and mellow taste, the perfect combination of coffee's sweet, sour, and bitter flavors, completely without bitterness, only moderate and perfect acidity, with persistent fruity notes in the finish.

Dry Aroma: Roasted peanut, hazelnut, melon, chocolate-like

Wet Aroma: Rose-tea, caramel, honey, dark chocolate, almond skins, silky mouthfeel, brightness

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions

So how should we brew this FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee bean?

Daily Brewing Filter Cup Selection: V60, Kalita Wave, and KONO are all suitable

Example with KONO Filter Cup:

Parameters: 15g coffee, water temperature 84-86°C, BG grinding 6M (China standard 20-mesh screen, 47% pass rate), equivalent to Fuji grinder 4, water-to-coffee ratio close to 1:14, total time around 1:50

Technique: 25-30g water for bloom, bloom time 30s, slowly pour water to about 120g and stop, wait for water level to drop just before exposing the coffee bed, then start pouring to 210g.

Other Extraction Suggestions:

French Press: 3.5-4 grind setting / water temperature 86°C

Siphon: 4 grind setting, water temperature: 89°C

AeroPress: 2.5 grind setting, water temperature 86°C

Small Tips:

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain has a relatively dark roast degree. If you use too high water temperature, it will easily produce astringency and carry obvious smoky flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee Teaches You How to Identify Real vs. Fake Blue Mountain?

1. Appearance: FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain raw beans are greenish, very uniform in appearance, medium to small in size, with slightly upturned ends. They expand significantly and become very full after roasting.

2. Grinding: Real FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee beans grow at high altitude, their cytoplasmic structure is relatively loose. When grinding by hand, they feel very crisp, smooth, and continuous, without any resistance feeling.

3. Aroma: Very rich and dense aroma; so-called blended Blue Mountain coffee does not have this kind of aroma.

4. Flavor: Real FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee has balanced, rich taste without any flavor being too prominent or lacking, which is also the key identification point that no other coffee beans can match.

So, What is Blue Mountain Flavor Coffee?

The so-called "Blue Mountain Blend" actually has nothing to do with Blue Mountain; this situation occurred because early Blue Mountain coffee was rare and expensive. Operators based on Blue Mountain's flavor created coffee that approximates Blue Mountain's taste using mixed beans with dark roasting. Therefore, conscientious merchants in domestic and international markets will tell customers that this is "Blue Mountain Blend," "Blue Mountain Style," "Blue Mountain Flavor," or "Blue Mountain-style" coffee beans, not real Blue Mountain coffee.

Real Blue Mountain and Blue Mountain flavor are two different concepts. Generally, other bean varieties are roasted to imitate Blue Mountain coffee's similar taste. "Blue Mountain Blend" beans are mixed with relatively large shape differences, making them easier to identify. Also don't believe in "premium Blue Mountain" that costs dozens of yuan per pound or "Blue Mountain coffee" that costs only ten-plus yuan per cup.

Not everything labeled "Blue Mountain" is real Blue Mountain. Hope this helps everyone identify~

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473