What does Blue Mountain coffee certification require?
Jamaica's Coffee Industry Board (CIB), part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, sets the rules for Blue Mountain coffee, including growing regions, grades and processing. Only beans grown above 2,200 feet in the Blue Mountains may carry the name. Blue Mountain No. 1 green beans must be screen size 17 or larger, hold a defect rate under 3% and a moisture content near 13%.
Grades run from No. 1 through No. 3 plus hand-selected PB, and the beans are washed only, with no natural or other processing used to date. Certified estates such as Wallenford, Mavis Bank and CLYDESDALE, whose factory sits near the CIB office, fall under this system, and new certified estates must now reach 50 hectares or more. Brewing guidance covers V60, Kalita, KONO, French press, siphon and AeroPress.
Jamaica is the only country in the world with a government-level coffee management agency, the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (CIB), which strictly defines the production regions, grades, and processing methods of Blue Mountain coffee. This article focuses on the CIB authorization system, outlining the green bean standards for Blue Mountain No. 1, the grading differences between Blue Mountain, High Mountain, and Jamaican coffee, and introducing major producers such as Wallenford, Mavis Bank, and CLYDESDALE. It also shares Front Street Coffee's pour-over methods for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, including the coffee-to-water ratio, water temperature, grind size, and staged pouring techniques for V60, Kalita, and KONO drippers, along with extraction suggestions for French press, siphon, and AeroPress, and finally provides Front Street Coffee's flavor description of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.
Jamaica is the only country in the world with a dedicated government-established coffee management authority, the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (CIB), under the jurisdiction of Jamaica's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The CIB is responsible for matters including cultivation technical guidance, processing training, fair trade, and quality supervision, covering every aspect of the quality and brand of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. CIB board members are typically estate owners with estates of a certain scale, and as the industry has evolved, newly certified Jamaican Blue Mountain estates must now reach 50 hectares or more. According to CIB regulations, only coffee beans produced in areas of Jamaica's Blue Mountains above 2,200 feet are eligible to be called Jamaican Blue Mountain, with grades based on bean size divided into NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and hand-selected PB. Among these, the basic requirements for NO.1 Blue Mountain green beans are 17 screen size or above, a defect rate below 3%, and a moisture content of about 13%. In addition, to date Jamaican Blue Mountain green beans have only ever been processed using the washed method, with no natural or other processing methods.
There is another company worth noting, namely Coffee Trades, with an estate named CLYDESDALE, whose coffee factory is located in the backyard of the CIB office building, with the estate situated halfway up the Blue Mountains at an altitude of about 1,200 meters. Jamaica's two other most well-known Blue Mountain coffee companies are Wallenford and Mavis Bank, both of which were originally state-controlled enterprises. Wallenford's output accounts for more than 60% of Jamaica's total Blue Mountain production, while Mavis Bank accounts for over 20%, and it is one of the few Blue Mountain enterprises that simultaneously holds all three grades: Jamaican Blue Mountain, Jamaican High Mountain, and Jamaican Supreme coffee.
Classification and grading of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee:
The history of Jamaican coffee can be traced back to the 18th century, when the British introduced coffee tree species to Jamaica, planting them in the Blue Mountain range, and later gradually distinguishing high-altitude Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, Jamaican High Mountain coffee, and Jamaican coffee, with different grades commanding different prices.
(1) Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
Blue Mountain coffee and High Mountain coffee are each further divided into four grades, ranked from highest to lowest quality as NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB, with PB being peaberry. According to CIB standards, only coffee grown in areas above 666 meters in altitude can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. As the finest of coffees, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee produced in the mountainous areas at altitudes of about 2,000 to 2,256 meters is scarce in yield due to the steep terrain on the mountainsides, with large beans, excellent quality, and a harmonious taste, possessing appropriate acidity, bitterness, aroma, body, and sweetness, and is recognized worldwide as the finest, which is why the national treasure Blue Mountain No.1 commands the highest price among all Blue Mountain coffees.
(2) Jamaican High Mountain Coffee
Coffee produced in areas below 666 meters in altitude in Jamaica's Blue Mountain region is called High Mountain coffee, second only to Blue Mountain coffee in quality, and is also known in the industry as the brother variety of Blue Mountain coffee. Since Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is produced in extremely small quantities, if you want to taste the Jamaican flavor, Jamaican High Mountain coffee is an excellent choice.
(3) Jamaican Coffee
Coffee grown in areas outside the Blue Mountain range is called Jamaican coffee. In the past, Chinese coffee professionals often had a misunderstanding, believing that only coffee grown in the Blue Mountain region above 1,800 meters in altitude could be called Blue Mountain coffee. In reality, there is only one estate on the mountain crown above 1,800 meters in the Blue Mountain range, namely Amber, whose owner is of Chinese descent, surnamed Lyn (Lin), with ancestral roots in Guangdong, China, and the estate is only 30 hectares with very small output. 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.
Front Street Coffee's pour-over parameters for Front Street Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee:
For everyday brewing: the dripper can be a V60, Kalita wedge-shaped, or KONO
Parameters: 15g coffee, water temperature 90°C, grind size 3.5, coffee-to-water ratio close to 1:15, total time about 2:00
Technique: bloom with 25-30g water for 30s, first pour up to 120g then stop; use a vertical stream, small flow in slow circles; second pour up to 225g, with the flow and circling speed slightly faster to reduce clogging of the dripper by coffee grounds, which could cause over-extraction.
Parameter suggestions for other extraction methods:
French press: grind size 3.5-4 / water temperature 90°C
Siphon: grind size 4, water temperature: 89°C
AeroPress, grind size 2.5, water temperature 88°C
Authentic Front Street Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee flavor description:
The taste is very clean, and it is one of the sweetest coffees in the world. This flavor has been described by Jim Reynolds at Peet's Coffee and Tea: "The best example of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is that it has aroma, smoothness and richness; it gives me the feeling of gem-like quality. It is as precious as a gem. It is complex, yet very mild; it is sweet, and it has very strong body. You must taste it in order to know what I am talking about." The unique growing conditions and the extremely meticulous care taken throughout all production processes have made Front Street Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee very famous. The flavor is rich and mellow, with the coffee's sweetness, acidity, and bitterness perfectly balanced, completely lacking bitterness, with only a moderate and perfect acidity and a lingering fruity note.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
