Blue Mountain Premium Coffee Beans Roast Level Processing Method Pour-Over Grind Size Flavor Profile Introduction

The Legendary Reputation of Blue Mountain Coffee

Blue Mountain Coffee is exceptionally famous, and many friends have heard of its great reputation, but often only know the name and that it's very expensive. So why is FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee so famous, and what exactly does FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee taste like?

The Origin of Blue Mountain Coffee

Blue Mountain is a place (mountain range) located in eastern Jamaica in the Caribbean Sea. This is the only place in Jamaica where coffee is produced. FrontStreet Coffee has been importing Blue Mountain coffee beans for roasting for quite some time. From a roasting perspective, the quality of FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee green beans belongs to the first tier level - with few defects, large and full beans, and uniform color. These coffee beans are the easiest to roast.

Why Blue Mountain Coffee is So Famous and Expensive

As for why Blue Mountain coffee beans are so famous and expensive! FrontStreet Coffee believes there are several main reasons:

1. Scarcity drives up value. Jamaica's Blue Mountain coffee annual production is less than 800 tons, accounting for only 0.02% of the world's total coffee production. And FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain No.1 coffee beans, the best of the best among Blue Mountain specialty coffees, account for an even smaller proportion, so the price naturally becomes expensive.

2. Unparalleled quality during its rise to fame. The era when Blue Mountain coffee became famous was unlike today, where specialty coffee is emphasized. Blue Mountain coffee truly began to develop in 1952 with the establishment of the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board, a government-led department that coordinated the development of the coffee industry. Blue Mountain coffee formally established its path toward specialty coffee. This included supporting cultivation, setting standards, and unified management. The quality of Blue Mountain coffee at that time was at its best.

3. Japanese commercial promotion. In 1969, Jamaica suffered severe hurricane damage, with plantations suffering heavy losses. Japan's UCC company provided substantial assistance that helped Jamaica's coffee industry recover. As a token of gratitude, Jamaica signed an agreement with Japan in 1972, allocating 90% of Blue Mountain coffee's quota to Japan, with Europe and America each receiving 5%. Therefore, from the 1980s to 2010, the Japanese monopolized most Blue Mountain coffee beans. After monopolization came the "deification plan," pushing Blue Mountain coffee's reputation to its peak.

After the 2008 financial crisis, Jamaica also noticed Japan's economic weakness and intentionally sought other buyers to share risks. China became an important target. In July 2010, the Hangzhou Coffee and Western Restaurant Industry Association was invited to visit Jamaica and signed a letter of intent for cooperation as the sole general agent for Blue Mountain coffee green beans in China. In May 2011, the first container of Blue Mountain coffee green beans arrived at Ningbo Port. This should be the first time Blue Mountain coffee beans officially entered the mainland Chinese market.

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee Heritage

Clifton Estate's Frontsteet Blue Mountain Coffee was the first to officially enter the mainland Chinese market, and FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee beans have always come from Clifton Estate. Therefore, let's examine the quality characteristics of FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee.

The Blue Mountain Coffee Designation

First, not all coffee grown in the Blue Mountains can be called Blue Mountain Coffee. The CIB stipulates that only coffee produced in the core area of Blue Mountain (6,000 hectares) can be called Blue Mountain Coffee. Coffee from outside this area can only be sold as High Mountain Coffee or Jamaica Select Coffee. This core area corresponds precisely to elevations between 1,000-1,700 meters (peaks exceeding 1,700 meters cannot be cultivated due to forest protection).

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee uses Arabica Typica, with larger bean size and high sweetness, but fruit yield is scarce, even less than half of the popular Central and South American variety Caturra. Blue Mountain's high price is thus evident.

The Refined Washed Processing Method

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee's elegant and delicate flavor is related not only to the coffee variety and growing environment but also to another key factor: the refined washed processing method that has been used for hundreds of years.

The washed method, simply put, involves placing harvested coffee cherries in water pools, using the flotation method to separate ripe beans from unripe ones, then using water flow on conveyor belts to send ripe coffee cherries into a depulper to remove the fruit skin. The depulped coffee beans, still with mucilage and parchment, are then placed in water pools for fermentation. After the mucilage ferments, water flow agitation removes any remaining mucilage residue. The clean coffee beans with parchment are then sun-dried until reaching a certain moisture content before being stored in warehouses.

Before export, they undergo parchment removal, density screening, color sorting, manual hand-picking, and other processes - no need to elaborate further.

Although this is the general process for washed processing, each processing plant differs in details, thus resulting in different coffee flavors.

Clifton Estate's washed processing plant prominently displays a "COFFEE SPA" sign. When hand-picked ripe red cherries arrive here, they undergo flotation, depulping, fermentation, and washing processes within 10 hours. Each step is carefully handled, as if the coffee cherries are enjoying a spa service here.

Innovative Processing Techniques

During the spring coffee harvest season, mountain temperatures are low, and the mountain spring water is clear and clean with excellent quality but only around 15°C. If the water temperature is too low, fermentation time becomes too long, not only causing resource waste but also potentially allowing bacterial infection and spoilage during extended fermentation. Clifton processing plant created an 8-hour fermentation method by heating spring water to 26-28°C, greatly improving fermentation efficiency and effectiveness.

Through technological innovation, Clifton processing plant not only reduced water usage for processing 60 pounds of coffee cherries from 1,200 liters to 20 liters but also changed the pH value of wastewater from 3.4 to 5.5 through water treatment stations. Although it doesn't meet drinking standards, it can be used for agricultural irrigation, conserving water resources while solving the problem of acidic water pollution.

When the water-processed coffee beans are sent to the drying yard, the moisture content is about 55%. They need to be dried to 34% before entering mechanical dryers to reduce moisture content to 11%-12% for storage. The drying process temperature must not exceed 34°C. All these details are to maintain the viability of coffee bean embryos, which is also an important secret to ensuring coffee flavor. Coffee beans that undergo meticulous processing and storage can survive for up to a year.

Aging and Export

When the moisture content reaches 11-12%, coffee beans are placed in specially designed wooden houses to rest for one month. After the previous series of processes, this resting period is very important for coffee flavor maturation and stabilization of internal structure and water activity. After resting ends, the coffee can be shipped worldwide.

The Blue Mountain Barrel Tradition

Blue Mountain coffee beans that have completed quality inspection are transported using different materials according to different grades. Blue Mountain No.1, No.2, and No.3 are the world's only coffees exported in wooden barrels, available in three specifications: 70kg, 30kg, and 15kg. Other grades of Jamaican coffee are exported in 60kg burlap bags. Compared to coarse burlap bags, oak barrels have the advantage of absorbing and releasing internal and external humidity while isolating coffee aroma from escaping, allowing coffee beans to maintain more stable moisture content and making roasting more stable. Later, wooden barrels also became one of the identifiers for authentic Blue Mountain Coffee. FrontStreet Coffee stores display wooden barrels used for transporting FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain No.1 green coffee beans.

Quality Certification

Producers and distributors of Blue Mountain Coffee must be licensed by the Jamaican government and authorized by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board. All Blue Mountain batches exported locally must also undergo quality inspection and certification by the Coffee Industry Board and carry its label. FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain No.1 coffee is produced by Clifton Estate and possesses quality certification certificates issued by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board, authorized sales certificates issued by Blue Mountain Coffee manufacturers, and certificates of origin for Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee Roasting

Roasting is a crucial part of coffee. Early on, Jamaica insisted on roasting at the origin to ensure coffee quality, only exporting roasted beans. Later, due to the popularity of fresh roasting, they developed channels for green bean exports. FrontStreet Coffee's roasters believe that to preserve Blue Mountain's classic balanced and comfortable flavor, they adopted a medium-dark roast level.

Cupping Profile and Taste Experience

Cupping flavor and taste performance: smooth and sweet entry, with main notes of nuts and dark chocolate, almost no bitterness detectable. Acidity, sweetness, body, and bitterness achieve nearly perfect balance.

Brewing Guidelines

To brew FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee well, grind size and water temperature are very important! FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a grind size with 75% pass-through through a #20 sieve, approximately the size of coarse sugar. FrontStreet Coffee recommends using 87-88°C water temperature.

In terms of ratio, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a 1:13-1:15 coffee-to-water ratio. Use 1:13 for a stronger brew, or 1:15 for a more balanced brew.

For equipment, choosing an immersion-style dripper makes it easier to brew the rich body of FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee. For example, FrontStreet Coffee uses a Kono dripper when brewing FrontStreet Coffee's Blue Mountain Coffee.

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Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473