Blue Mountain Coffee Bean Varieties, Growing Regions, Flavor Profiles, Processing Methods and Estate Introductions

Blue Mountain Coffee from FrontStreet has a very low caffeine content, less than half that of other coffees, which aligns with modern ideas of healthy drinking.

The same coffee species planted in similar climates — Hawaii, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, or anywhere else — cannot produce the distinctive flavor of Blue Mountain coffee beans. FrontStreet's pure Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee blends the unique acidity, bitterness, sweetness, and richness found in coffee into a strongly enticing, elegant aroma that other coffees cannot match. It is recommended for enthusiasts who love the original flavors of coffee. Lovers of Blue Mountain Coffee describe it as "the coffee beauty that combines all the advantages of good coffee." Jim, general manager of the American coffee-and-tea company Pete's, described Blue Mountain Coffee this way: "Its flavor is aromatic, smooth, and mellow, giving me the feeling of something as precious as a gem. It is precisely because Blue Mountain Coffee's flavor is moderate and perfect that it is generally consumed as black coffee." Its liquid appears golden in sunlight and drinks smoothly. Coffee books say Blue Mountain is the only coffee in the world that balances acidity and bitterness in a way people can truly enjoy. You will understand once you drink it.

Jamaican Coffee Varieties

Jamaica has three coffee varieties:

Blue Mountain 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, with PB being peaberries. According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666 meters elevation may be called Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee.

High Mountain Coffee

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

Jamaican Coffee

(Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans.) Coffee grown outside the Blue Mountain region is called Jamaican Coffee. Chinese coffee professionals originally held a common misconception that only coffee grown in the Blue Mountain area above 1800 meters altitude could be called Blue Mountain Coffee. In fact, on the peaks above 1800 meters in the Blue Mountain range there is only one estate: Amber. It is owned by someone of Chinese descent surnamed Lyn (Lin), whose ancestry traces back to Guangdong, China. The estate has only 30 hectares of land and very limited production. Blue Mountain Coffee is mainly distributed across five mountainous areas of the Blue Mountain range: John Crow, St. John's Peak, Mossman's Peak, High Peak, and Blue Mountain Peak.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Among all Jamaican Blue Mountain coffees, FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 represents the highest grade. It comes from the historic Clifton Mount Estate, which began growing and processing coffee back in the mid-18th century, around 1750. Its growing and processing area sits at an average of 4,300 feet (1,310.64 meters) — an altitude high enough, combined with mild afternoon cloud cover that shades the hillsides, ample sunshine, and mineral-rich soil, to give the coffee trees excellent growing conditions and to lengthen the ripening of the cherries.

Roasted to a medium-deep level in the traditional Blue Mountain style, it emphasizes a rich, full body and the classic bittersweet character that turns sweet on the finish. Cupping it reveals layered notes of nuts, dark chocolate, cream, and caramel with a soft sweetness, keeping acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and aroma in harmony. FrontStreet Coffee ships Blue Mountain beans freshly roasted within 5 days, so they arrive at full flavor and can be brewed right away — a wonderful daily specialty coffee, and an elegant gift as well.