How are Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans graded?

Authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is harder to find than the name suggests. Blue Mountain coffee falls into three main categories, graded by bean size, defect count and cup quality, with Blue Mountain No. 1 the top tier. Genuine lots come from the Blue Mountain region, such as the Clifton Estate, grow Typica at around 1,310 meters, and are clearly different from supermarket drinks that merely carry the flavor.

Processing also shapes the cup. Washed Blue Mountain No. 1 shows brown sugar sweetness and berry acidity on entry, then nutty and cocoa notes, a creamy mouthfeel and a walnut aftertaste. Natural Blue Mountain leans to dark chocolate and nuts with high cleanliness and balanced acidity, sweetness and bitterness. Whether and what kind of sugar to add is a matter of personal taste rather than grade.

Blue Mountain coffee has long enjoyed a stellar reputation, yet genuine Jamaican Blue Mountain is not easy to find on the market. In this article, Front Street Coffee will systematically sort out the three major categories of Blue Mountain coffee and the grading standards for Blue Mountain coffee beans, explain in detail the differences between the washed and natural processing methods, review the historical development of the Blue Mountain region from the 18th century to the present, and introduce practical methods for identifying authentic Blue Mountain coffee. The article also includes Front Street's brewing data and flavor comparison for washed Blue Mountain and natural Blue Mountain, helping everyone gain a more comprehensive understanding of this classic hailed as the pinnacle of coffee.

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When Blue Mountain coffee is mentioned, Front Street believes coffee lovers are all familiar with it. This coffee enjoys extremely high name recognition, and its presence can be seen whether on the shelves of large supermarkets or in street-side automatic beverage machines. However, these products are clearly not true Blue Mountain coffee—at best, they are caffeinated drinks with a Blue Mountain flavor. So what exactly is authentic Blue Mountain coffee like? This article from Front Street will take a good look at that.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): Jamaican Washed Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Beans

Country: Jamaica Region: Blue Mountain (Clifton Estate) Altitude: 1310m Variety: Typica Processing Method: Washed Flavor: Brown sugar sweetness and berry acidity on the entry, nutty and cocoa flavors in the mid-to-back palate, a creamy mouthfeel, rich and pronounced layering, with a walnut aroma in the aftertaste.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee): Jamaican Natural Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee Beans

Country: Jamaica Region: Blue Mountain (Clifton Estate) Altitude: 1310m Variety: Typica Processing Method: Washed Flavor: Dark chocolate and nutty flavors on the entry, high cleanliness, very bright, good body, balanced acidity, sweetness, and bitterness.

As Front Street mentioned above, Blue Mountain coffee comes in both washed and natural processing forms. In fact, early Blue Mountain coffee only used the washed method, because washed processing better preserves the region's original flavor and makes the coffee taste cleaner and more transparent. Therefore, Blue Mountain coffee has long used washed processing to present the purest Blue Mountain flavor.

The arrival of natural Blue Mountain coffee today shows that the Blue Mountain region is also adapting to changing times. As various specialty processing methods continue to emerge in the specialty coffee market, Blue Mountain coffee is likewise keeping up with the trend. So even though natural processing is quite difficult in the Blue Mountain region, the locals still actively pursue change without fear of hardship.

However, whenever Front Street introduces beans from a certain region to coffee lovers, it always prioritizes recommending the washed version, because washed processing best reflects the region's true flavor. Of course, the introduction of natural processing to Blue Mountain coffee is more out of consideration for following market trends.

Clifton Estate

The two Blue Mountain coffees mentioned above by Front Street both come from Clifton Estate, the oldest estate in Blue Mountain and the only estate in Jamaica to obtain Rainforest Alliance certification. Obtaining this certification is not easy, because for farms applying for Rainforest Alliance standards, the alliance audits and evaluates their protection of the ecosystem and surrounding environment, restrictions on pesticide use, and waste management. Only coffee that passes the assessment and obtains certification deserves the title of Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee.

The Rainforest Alliance logo is a green frog, so Blue Mountain coffee with this green frog printed on the barrel must come from Clifton Estate, which is also a way to judge the authenticity of Blue Mountain coffee.

The History of Blue Mountain Coffee

Blue Mountain coffee comes from Jamaica. According to Front Street's understanding, its history can be traced back to the 18th century, when the British introduced Typica coffee trees to the Blue Mountain range in Jamaica for cultivation. The Blue Mountains have unique soil and climate conditions; in particular, the high-altitude mountain areas are shrouded in clouds and mist year-round, making them very suitable for coffee tree growth. Therefore, the coffee beans produced here are of outstanding quality and deeply favored by royalty.

For this reason, by 1800, the number of plantations in Jamaica's Blue Mountain area alone reached about 686; by 1814, Jamaica's coffee export volume had climbed to 15,199 tons, making Jamaica one of the important coffee-producing countries in the Western Hemisphere at the time.

However, after the slave trade was abolished in 1807, Jamaica's main labor force became Black people, and the source of labor for coffee plantations was completely cut off, causing production to begin declining. In 1838, Black slaves in Jamaica were fully emancipated, and the large number of Black people who had worked on the estates left, turning instead to clear wasteland on other plots in the Blue Mountains, further reducing Blue Mountain coffee production.

By 1850, Jamaica's coffee plantations had plummeted from the original 686 to only 186, and coffee export volume had plunged to 1,486 tons. Over the following hundred years, the management model of Jamaica's Blue Mountains changed, gradually evolving from the former large-plantation model to a small-scale coffee farmer model. Small-scale cultivation inevitably lacked professionalism, and Jamaican coffee quality declined accordingly, so much so that in 1943, Canada, one of Jamaica's main coffee importers, was the first to announce it would refuse Jamaican coffee, and neighboring United States followed suit by halting imports.

Thus, in 1944, Jamaica established a central washing station. This was set up by the Jamaican government under the active promotion of A.J. Wakefield, then Agricultural Inspector for the British West Indies. The government stipulated that all exported coffee had to be purchased, processed, and graded through this institution before export. This meant Jamaica began to place importance on coffee quality, and with strong government support, Blue Mountain coffee quality gradually improved.

In 1950, the Jamaican government established the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board to set quality standards for Jamaican coffee and supervise their implementation to ensure quality. The board also issues special official seals for exported green beans and roasted beans.

In 1969, Jamaica was severely hit by a hurricane. At that time, Japan's UCC Ueshima Coffee introduced ecological technology into coffee cultivation, helping revive Jamaica's coffee industry. To express gratitude, the Jamaican government signed a contract with Japan in 1971, agreeing to ship 90% of annual production to Japan, with most of the remaining 10% being taken by wealthy individuals or royalty before reaching the market. That is why Front Street said earlier that authentic Blue Mountain coffee is indeed very hard to drink.

By 1981, about 1,500 hectares of land in Jamaica had been cleared for coffee cultivation, and then another 6,000 hectares of coffee land received additional investment. In fact, today's Blue Mountain region has only 6,000 hectares of cultivation area, a very small place, so it is impossible for all coffee labeled "Blue Mountain" to come from there. In addition, 12,000 hectares of that land are used to grow two other categories of coffee: High Mountain Supreme and Jamaica Coffee.

According to Front Street's understanding, Jamaica is the only country in the world with a government coffee management agency, namely the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (CIB for short). CIB's functions cover cultivation technical guidance, processing training, fair trade, quality supervision, and a series of matters related to Jamaican Blue Mountain quality and brand. CIB board members are all estate owners in Jamaica with at least a certain scale of plantation (due to industrial shifts, newly certified Jamaican Blue Mountain estates today must have an area of more than 50 hectares). CIB stipulates that only coffee beans produced in Jamaica's Blue Mountain region above 2,200 feet can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain. This is also why authentic Blue Mountain coffee is expensive—things are precious when they are rare, and even with money, one may not necessarily get to drink 100% pure Blue Mountain coffee.

Real and Fake Blue Mountain Coffee

As Front Street mentioned above, drinking authentic Blue Mountain coffee is not an easy matter. Many unscrupulous merchants, seeing the fame of Blue Mountain coffee, blend coffee beans from other regions with similar flavors to pass them off as Blue Mountain coffee, and such blended products actually contain not a single Blue Mountain bean. So how should coffee lovers identify authentic Blue Mountain coffee beans? Next, Front Street will explain this to everyone.

How to Identify Authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Beans

According to Front Street's understanding, CIB stipulates that only coffee beans produced in Jamaica's Blue Mountain region above 2,200 feet can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain, and their grades are divided by bean size into NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and hand-selected PB. Among them, the basic standards for NO.1 Blue Mountain green beans are: 17 mesh or above, defect rate below 3%, moisture content around 13%, etc. Currently on the market, the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board can issue certificates for all exported Blue Mountain coffee.

Front Street has learned that the earliest "Jamaican Blue Mountain" referred to coffee produced by Wallenford Estate and Silver Hill Estate, among which Wallenford Estate's Blue Mountain coffee was of the best quality; today's Jamaican Blue Mountain refers to coffee beans grown in the Blue Mountain region east of Jamaica's capital Kingston (at altitudes above 1,000 meters). Currently Mavis Bank is the largest estate, and its barrels are marked M.B.C.F. Jamaican Blue Mountain quality control is strict, with the government's Coffee Industry Board responsible for certification work.

At present, the marks that can represent the origin of Blue Mountain coffee include six kinds: Mavis Bank Central Factory (M.B.C.E), Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative Factory (M.H.C.C.T.), Portland Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative Factory (P.X.X.S.H.), Coffee Industry Association (Wallenford), Coffee Industry Association (St. John's Peak), and Blue Ridge (J.A.S), among others. Some estate grades will also add additional markings on the barrels.

Blue Mountain coffee is also, to date, the only coffee-producing region among all coffees that uses wooden barrels to pack green beans; all other coffee exports use burlap sacks.

Based on what Front Street has said above, the authenticity of Blue Mountain coffee can be judged by the following three standards:

(1) Quality certificate issued by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board

(2) Authorized sales certificate issued by the Blue Mountain coffee producer. (Blue Mountain coffee is distributed by 4 Jamaican government-licensed processors and exporters, and exported by 16 licensed exporters.)

(3) Certificate of origin for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

Second, as Front Street said above, in Jamaica only coffee beans grown above 910 meters can be called Blue Mountain coffee, and Blue Mountain coffee beans are graded according to bean size and quality. Of course, different grades correspond to different prices. Next, Front Street will introduce the grading standards for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans to all coffee lovers.

Grading of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

Blue Mountain coffee can be divided by quality into four grades, from high to low: NO.1, NO.2, NO.3, and PB, with PB being peaberry. Front Street Coffee's Blue Mountain coffee beans are precisely Blue Mountain No. 1, which is also regarded as the finest among Blue Mountain coffees and therefore the highest-priced among Blue Mountain coffee types. Blue Mountain No. 1 is produced in the mountainous area of Jamaica's Blue Mountains at about 910–1,700 meters above sea level. Because the coffee trees grow on steep slopes, yields are scarce, the beans are large, quality is excellent, and the flavor is harmonious, combining moderate acidity, bitterness, aroma, body, and sweetness. It is globally recognized by coffee lovers as the finest, which naturally makes the price of Blue Mountain No. 1 the highest among all Blue Mountain coffees.

Blue Mountain Coffee Bean Grading

Blue Mountain No. 1 beans: 96% of the beans must be screen size 17/18, with no more than 2% defective beans.

Blue Mountain No. 2 beans: 96% of the beans must be screen size 16, with no more than 2% defective beans.

Blue Mountain No. 3 beans: 96% of the beans must be screen size 15, with no more than 2% defective beans. Blue Mountain Peaberry: 96% of the beans must be screen size 10 single peaberries, with no more than 2% defective beans. Blue Mountain Blend: a blend of Blue Mountain No. 1, 2, and 3 beans, with a small number of minor defects, but not affecting the cup quality of the coffee.

Blue Mountain Fine beans: coffee beans below screen size 15, with no more than 2% defective beans. This portion of beans is sold only in sample mode, and the price is determined by demand conditions.

Blue Mountain Mixed Peaberry: a blend of Blue Mountain peaberries, with a small number of minor defects, but very good cup quality, with no more than 4% defective beans.

The above is the relevant information on Blue Mountain coffee compiled by Front Street. Before offering each new bean to coffee lovers for tasting, Front Street conducts extensive roasting, cupping, and brewing data work in order to derive the most delicious roasting and brewing parameters, so that coffee lovers can taste the coffee's best flavor. Next, Front Street will share the brewing data for washed Blue Mountain and natural Blue Mountain.

Front Street Brewing Data Sharing

When brewing Blue Mountain coffee, Front Street uses the KONO dripper. The KONO dripper can bring out a rounder, fuller body, and the flavor expression is more direct. However, the KONO dripper's exhaust effect is relatively poor, because its ribs are straight and only extend one quarter of the dripper's depth, with everything beyond that quarter lying tightly against the wall to form a sealed state. The reason for choosing the KONO dripper is that its only exhaust area is that quarter of ribs. When the water level rises past the rib section, the water volume inside the dripper continuously increases, increasing pressure through the weight of the water, while the outlet is relatively small, which can extend the contact time between coffee particles and water. As the water flow drives it, soluble substances are brought out more effectively, usually achieving the high-body effect the guest expects.

Coffee dose: 15g Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15 Water temperature: 88–89°C Grind size: medium-coarse grind (75% passing a No. 20 standard sieve)

Front Street's staged brewing method: Brewing method: bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, then slowly pour 100g of water in a small stream in circular motions from the center outward, that is, the electronic scale shows 130g. Then wait for the coffee bed to drop to the halfway point and pour 65g of water in a large stream, reaching a total water amount of 195g. After all the coffee liquid in the dripper has flowed into the server, remove the dripper and end extraction. Total brewing time is 1 minute 50 seconds.

Brewing Flavor Comparison

[Natural Blue Mountain] Brown sugar sweetness on the entry accompanied by berry acidity, nutty and cocoa flavors in the mid-to-back palate, a creamy mouthfeel, rich and pronounced layering, with a walnut aroma brought out in the aftertaste.

[Washed Blue Mountain] Dark chocolate and nutty flavors on the entry, high cleanliness, very bright, good body, balanced acidity, sweetness, and bitterness.

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