Blue Mountain coffee is produced in the Blue Mountains of western Jamaica, with an annual output of only about 700 tons. It is renowned for its balanced and intense acidity, aroma, richness, and sweetness, complemented by a mild bitterness, making it the finest among single-origin coffees. Due to its scarcity, most Blue Mountain coffee on the market is a blended "Blue Mountain style" coffee using Blue Mountain beans as a base. To fully showcase Blue Mountain flavors, the siphon is widely recognized as the most suitable brewing device, as it is easy to operate and extracts comprehensively. Meanwhile, the Jamaican government has signed an agreement with the Hangzhou Coffee and Western Cuisine Association, allowing Blue Mountain green beans to be sold directly to China, bypassing Japanese agents, which is expected to significantly reduce costs. Front Street Coffee recommends paying attention to this change, bringing enthusiasts a more authentic Blue Mountain experience.
Blue Mountain coffee beans are named after their origin—the Blue Mountains in western Jamaica. The highest peak of this mountain range is 2,256 meters above sea level, while coffee trees are typically grown on steep slopes at about 1,000 meters. The annual output of Blue Mountain coffee beans is only around 700 tons.
Blue Mountain coffee beans are plump and slightly larger than ordinary beans. Their acidity, aroma, richness, and sweetness are balanced and prominent, with only a slight bitterness, resulting in a harmonious overall taste and outstanding flavor, making them very suitable for drinking as single-origin coffee. However, due to limited production, what is commonly found on the market is mostly "Blue Mountain style" coffee, which uses Blue Mountain beans as a base and blends them with other coffee beans.
What equipment is best for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans?
Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is a type of single-origin coffee, also known as regional coffee, referring to specialty coffee produced in certain areas due to unique factors such as climate and altitude. The most suitable way to enjoy this type of coffee is by using a siphon, which can fully display the coffee's flavor. The siphon has a classic design, is easy to operate, and extracts comprehensively. It is one of the most commonly used devices for home use or single-origin appreciation, and its price is generally acceptable.
Basic operation method:
1. Pour hot water into the lower chamber. The upper chamber can be inserted obliquely into the lower chamber first, then heated. This can avoid the event of hot water spraying out and scalding people when the upper chamber is inserted after the water in the lower chamber is too hot.
2. When the water bubbles become larger, straighten the upper chamber.
3. After the hot water has completely risen to the upper chamber, add the previously ground coffee powder.
4. Gently stir the coffee powder layer.
5. Practice smelling the aroma, observe changes in the powder layer, or start timing. Any method is fine, but avoid stirring constantly.
6. When the desired concentration, taste, or set time is reached, turn off the heat. At the same time, quickly wipe the lower chamber with a wet cloth (evenly and swiftly; do not keep the cloth in one place to avoid cracking the lower chamber), so the coffee can quickly enter the lower chamber.
7. Gently shake the upper chamber to facilitate removing it from the lower chamber.
8. Pour into a coffee cup (pre-warm the cup beforehand) and start preparing to taste.
Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans will be sold directly to China.
Jamaican Ambassador to China Courtenay Rattray announced today in Hangzhou that the Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board have signed a contract with the Hangzhou Coffee and Western Cuisine Association for the domestic general agency of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee green beans in China. The world's top coffee, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee green beans, will be sold directly to China in the future, breaking the previous monopoly position in the Chinese market of Japanese agents who control 90% of Jamaica's coffee green bean export quota. The cost for Chinese companies to purchase Blue Mountain coffee green beans will be significantly reduced.
According to the agreement, all quotas for the future Chinese marketing of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee green beans will be handled by a separately established trading company under the Hangzhou Coffee and Western Cuisine Association as the dedicated general agent for import and marketing. Jamaica will export 70 tons of coffee to China within the next year, valued at 1.7 million USD (about 11.52 million RMB), and the Hangzhou Coffee and Western Cuisine Association, representing 800 cafes, coffee roasters, and other experts in China, will become the exclusive import agency for Jamaican coffee in China. The agreement is initially set for two years and is expected to be extended upon expiration.
"In the future, Japanese agents will not be able to sell Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee green beans in the Chinese market. China can bypass international traders to purchase Blue Mountain coffee green beans, thereby eliminating the added costs of middlemen," said Jin Meiyang, president of the Hangzhou Coffee and Western Cuisine Association and CEO of Cross-Strait Coffee.
It is understood that the price of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee green beans is 8 times that of ordinary coffee green beans. In China, a cup of "Blue Mountain coffee" sells for between more than 70 RMB and more than 100 RMB, making it a top-tier coffee. Currently, most of what Japanese agents sell to the Chinese market is roasted Blue Mountain coffee beans, usually priced at 2,200 RMB per kilogram. If calculated based on the agreement's future export of 70 tons of coffee to China within one year, valued at 1.7 million USD (about 11.52 million RMB), the price of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee green beans sold directly to China would be 165 RMB per kilogram. Although roasted beans include roasting and processing costs, even if 165 RMB per kilogram green beans rise in price after being processed into roasted beans, compared with the price of 2,200 RMB per kilogram, there should still be a large price difference.
Jin Meiyang stated that a dedicated trading company will be established as soon as possible to market top-quality Blue Mountain coffee nationwide. In the future, nearly 1,000 stores of various coffee shop brands under the Hangzhou Coffee and Western Cuisine Association will directly promote various Jamaican coffee products to consumers. At the same time, Jamaican coffee will also directly enter China's vast supermarket and hypermarket networks for sales. On the Jamaican side, a dedicated representative will also be stationed at the Jamaican Embassy in China to promote the development of Jamaican coffee brands in China.
It is reported that the finest Blue Mountain coffee beans generally do not enter the circulation market; the vast majority are reserved by royalty and wealthy individuals. The Blue Mountain coffee beans that go on sale are "Blue Mountain" brand coffee beans that have obtained a certificate of guarantee from the Jamaican government. Rattray stated that Jamaica exports 1,000 to 2,000 tons of Blue Mountain coffee beans annually, with nearly 90% of the exported portion going to Japan and the rest to European and American markets. This year, due to Japan's economic recession, market demand for coffee has greatly decreased, leading to overcapacity in Jamaica's coffee industry, and Jamaica has begun trying market diversification.
Lu Qiaozhi, advisor to the Hangzhou Coffee and Western Cuisine Association, told NetEase Finance that the current demand for Blue Mountain coffee beans in the Chinese market is far more than 70 tons, but the existing problem and risk is that in the past, because authentic Blue Mountain coffee beans were difficult to buy, many fake Blue Mountain coffee beans appeared on the market, damaging the brand image of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. Therefore, the Jamaican side also stated that it will take measures to crack down on illegal acts of counterfeiting the Blue Mountain brand in the market.
Rattray stated that in addition to direct sales of Blue Mountain coffee green beans to China, he also hopes that Chinese investors will be able to go to Jamaica in the future to invest directly in coffee bean cultivation and production. "Japanese investors have secured most of the upstream coffee bean resources through direct investment in Jamaica."
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
