Blue Mountain Coffee is hailed as the king of coffee, but few people truly understand it. This article will take you back through the cultivation history of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, from the 18th-century French king's order to introduce the crop, to the strict supervision of the Coffee Industry Board, and the grading of Blue Mountain, High Mountain, and Jamaica Coffee. It will also analyze the unique flavor sources of Blue Mountain Coffee—the commitment to the washed Typica variety, along with the microclimate and volcanic soil of the Blue Mountains. Front Street Coffee's Clifton Farm Blue Mountain No. 1 is a representative of this classic flavor.

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The aroma of coffee always soothes the weary heart of a worker. But while coffee is drunk a lot, how many workers really understand what Blue Mountain Coffee is and what Americano is? Next, let Front Street explain the difference between Blue Mountain Coffee and Americano.

Jamaica's coffee comes from the Blue Mountains in the east. The name "Blue Mountain" comes from a local wonder: the Caribbean Sea surrounds the entire mountain range, and whenever the weather is clear and the sun is bright, sunlight strikes the sea surface, and the blue glow of the Caribbean reflects onto the mountains, hence the name Blue Mountain.

The Blue Mountains happen to lie in what we often call the coffee belt. Besides having a certain altitude, the Blue Mountains also have fertile volcanic soil, which is undoubtedly very suitable for growing and producing coffee. At the same time, the microclimate of the Blue Mountains is also a major factor in creating Blue Mountain Coffee. The Blue Mountain region has an overall humid climate, with fog and rain all year round, and average rainfall can reach 1,980 millimeters.

Blue Mountain Coffee Cultivation History

Blue Mountain Coffee comes from Jamaica. The history of coffee cultivation in Jamaica can be traced back to the 18th century, from 1717 when King Louis XV of France ordered the start of coffee cultivation in Jamaica, to later when the Governor of Jamaica introduced Arabica varieties from Martinique and promoted them widely. Coffee as a crop has since taken root in Jamaica.

In 1717, King Louis XV of France ordered coffee to be planted in Jamaica. In the mid-1720s, Jamaica's governor Sir Nicholas Lawes imported Arabica seeds from Martinique and began promoting cultivation in the St. Andrew region. To this day, St. Andrew is still one of the three major production regions of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, the other two being Portland and St. Thomas. Within 8 years, Jamaica exported more than 375 tons of pure coffee.

In 1932, coffee production reached its peak, with a harvest of more than 15,000 tons. In 1950, the Jamaican government established the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board, which set quality standards for Jamaican coffee and supervised their enforcement to ensure the quality of Jamaican coffee. The Board issued a special official seal for Jamaican exported green coffee and roasted coffee, making it the highest-level national coffee institution in the world.

At present, those that can represent the origin of Blue Mountain Coffee include six marks: Mavis Bank Central Factory (MBCE), Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative Factory (MHCCT), Portland Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative Factory (PXXSH), Coffee Industry Association (Wallenford), Coffee Industry Association (St. John's Peak), and Blue Ribbon (JAS). By 1969, the situation improved because Japanese loans were used to improve production quality, thus ensuring the market. Today, this coffee has reached the point of being fanatically loved.

By 1981, about 1,500 hectares of land in Jamaica had been reclaimed for coffee cultivation, and another 6,000 hectares of coffee land were subsequently invested in. In fact, today's Blue Mountain region is a small place with only 6,000 hectares of planting area, so it is impossible for all coffee marked "Blue Mountain" to be grown there.

Jamaica is also the last country to use wooden barrels for packaging and transporting coffee. Only after passing a series of strict standards set by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (C.I.B.) can coffee obtain a government-issued guarantee certificate and formally be crowned with the name "Blue Mountain".

Blue Mountain Coffee Flavor

Since Blue Mountain Coffee is so famous, what is special about its flavor? The excellent quality of Blue Mountain coffee beans creates its clean mouthfeel. In the era of medium-dark roasting, Blue Mountain Coffee often shows a balance of acidity, sweetness, and bitterness, with slight nutty and chocolate notes, and the finish after drinking is very comfortable. It represents the highest quality of coffee of an era and is truly the king of coffee.

The taste of Blue Mountain Coffee has always maintained high quality, thanks to strict control of export standards over the years. Until 20 years ago, the Blue Mountain Coffee we passed down by word of mouth was actually a Typica variety coffee processed by the washed method. Unlike other processing methods, the washed method is the most stable and efficient among traditional processing methods. After harvesting, coffee cherries are immediately floated, the skin and pulp are removed by machine, and then the pectin layer is removed through fermentation. After the pectin is removed, the moisture content of the coffee beans is greatly reduced, so the sun-drying time required is shorter and the defect rate is lower.

At the same time, the mature washed process gives Blue Mountain Coffee a cleaner mouthfeel and higher acidity. In addition to insisting on the mature washed process, maintaining the production of the Typica variety is also the reason Blue Mountain Coffee's taste remains stable and consistent. The Typica variety may be one of the oldest Arabica varieties. Compared with other varieties, Typica has a more delicate flavor, but its drawbacks are also very obvious: low resistance to disease and pests, and very low yield. In other American coffee-producing countries that pursue yield, Typica would quickly be replaced by other higher-yielding varieties, such as Caturra and Catuai.

Types of Blue Mountain Coffee

Coffee from Jamaica's Blue Mountain region has three grades: Blue Mountain Coffee, Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee Beans, and Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans. Among them, Blue Mountain Coffee and High Mountain Coffee are each further divided into two grades. From highest to lowest quality, they are: Blue Mountain No. 1, Blue Mountain No. 2, High Mountain No. 1, High Mountain No. 2, and Jamaica Coffee.

Blue Mountain Grading

In terms of the grading system, the entire Blue Mountain area is 2,256 meters above sea level, and above 1,700 meters is a natural ecological reserve where coffee cannot be planted. Under CIB classification, only coffee between 910 meters and 1,700 meters above sea level can be called "Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee." Coffee between 460 meters and 910 meters can only be called "Jamaica High Mountain Coffee," and coffee below 460 meters is called "Jamaica Prime Coffee."

Therefore, Jamaican coffee does not mean it is all Blue Mountain Coffee. Until now, only coffee produced on the 6,000 hectares of land in the Blue Mountains (above 910 meters) can be called Blue Mountain coffee beans. Coffee from the other approximately two-thirds of the Blue Mountains coffee-producing areas can only be classified as High Mountain Coffee or Prime Coffee.

Front Street Coffee's Jamaican Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Brewing Steps

Front Street Jamaica· Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Beans

Region: Jamaica Blue Mountain

Estate: Clifton Farm

Altitude: 1,310 meters

Processing Method: Washed

Variety: Typica

Roast Level: Medium-dark roast

Flavor: Chocolate, nuts, cream, with relatively balanced acidity, sweetness, and bitterness.

Clifton Mount is the oldest coffee estate in Jamaica that is still in normal operation, and only Clifton Farm in Jamaica has the "Rainforest" certification. The Blue Mountain region is a small place with only 6,000 hectares of planting area, so it is impossible for all coffee marked "Blue Mountain" to be grown there.

Clifton Farm is the largest estate in this region, though by international standards it still counts as small-scale cultivation. Many of the estate owners are small landowners whose families have worked this land for two centuries. It is recognized as a very high-quality, world-famous Blue Mountain Coffee producing area.

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