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Blue Mountain Coffee: Not Americano, and How to Brew It

December 6, 2021
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Is Blue Mountain coffee the same as an Americano?

Blue Mountain coffee is not Americano. Americano is espresso diluted with water, so its flavor depends on the espresso beans a cafe picks. Authentic Blue Mountain coffee comes from Jamaica's Blue Mountain range, where output is scarce. It is brewed as filter or siphon coffee rather than as an espresso base, which is why the two drinks belong to different categories.

For brewing, a KONO dripper works well: 88°C water, a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, staged pouring, and a total time near two minutes. Grind to about 70 percent passing a No. 20 sieve. This suits drinkers who want a clean, bright cup with delicate aromas; a richer mouthfeel can be reached by adjusting the dripper and water temperature.

Blue Mountain coffee and Americano are completely different things—Americano is made by diluting espresso with water in a certain ratio, giving it a refreshing and invigorating taste, and its flavor quality depends on the espresso beans chosen by the café. Blue Mountain coffee genuinely from Jamaica's Blue Mountain range is extremely rare and is better suited to being brewed with a pour-over dripper or siphon to fully release its aromatic layers. Besides clarifying the categorization of Blue Mountain coffee, this article also shares a set of practical brewing parameters: KONO dripper, 88°C water temperature, 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, staged extraction, a total duration of two minutes, and a grind standard of 70% passing through a No. 20 sieve, and explains which coffee enthusiasts it suits.

Blue Mountain coffee clearly cannot be considered Americano. Americano is made by extracting espresso with an espresso machine and then diluting it with water in a certain ratio, giving it a crisp, clean taste and a noticeably invigorating effect. When we walk into a café, Americano can almost always be found on the menu. Its flavor foundation comes from espresso beans, so whether a shop's Americano tastes good and how its flavor performs depends largely on the quality of the coffee beans the shop chooses.

So what kind of coffee are Blue Mountain coffee beans actually suited to making? Authentic Blue Mountain coffee comes from Jamaica's Blue Mountain range, with scarce output and a precious reputation. I personally recommend using equipment such as a pour-over dripper or siphon to brew it, as this maximizes the display of its aroma and flavor. Here I share a set of parameters I use for brewing Blue Mountain coffee in daily life: choose a KONO dripper, which allows Blue Mountain coffee to present a fuller body; control the water temperature at 88 degrees, and it is best not to exceed 88 degrees, otherwise bitterness is easily brought out; use a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, adopt staged pouring extraction, with a total duration of about 2 minutes; calibrate the grind coarseness with a national No. 20 sieve, with a passing rate reaching 70 percent.

If you prefer a clean, bright coffee style with delicate aromas, Blue Mountain coffee beans will be a very suitable choice; those who like a rich mouthfeel can also adjust the dripper and water temperature to achieve a more substantial body. If you want to give it a try, you might refer to Front Street Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee beans, which have stable quality and are suitable for both pour-over beginners and more advanced brewers.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.

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