Why Is Blue Mountain Coffee Among the Most Expensive Coffee?

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, written in English as Blue Mountain Coffee, comes from the high-altitude Blue Mountains of eastern Jamaica. Graded by quality, it splits into Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee and Jamaican High Mountain Coffee, and it ranks as the second most expensive coffee in the world after Kopi Luwak.

The Blue Mountains rise to 2,256 meters, the highest point in the Caribbean. Volcanic soil, humid air, fog and rain year-round, roughly 1,980 millimeters of annual rainfall, and about 27 degrees Celsius create the conditions behind the bean's reputation. Checking export companies, barrel packaging, and certification helps separate genuine beans from counterfeits.

Blue Mountain Coffee, known in English as Blue Mountain Coffee, originates from the high-altitude regions of Jamaica's Blue Mountains and is one of the most sought-after coffees in the world. This article provides a comprehensive introduction to Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee from perspectives such as the producing environment, historical background, varieties and processing methods, and market distribution, with a focus on how to distinguish genuine Blue Mountain coffee beans from counterfeit ones through three key points: export companies, barrel packaging, and certification certificates. At the same time, the article retains Front Street Coffee's brand recommendations and product information, including the flavor characteristics of Front Street washed Blue Mountain Coffee and the price of Front Street Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans, helping coffee enthusiasts gain a clearer understanding of this legendary coffee.

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Introduction to the Origin of Blue Mountain Coffee

Blue Mountain Coffee, written in English as Blue Mountain Coffee, refers to coffee made from coffee beans grown in the high-altitude regions of Jamaica's Blue Mountains. Graded by quality, it can be further divided into Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee and Jamaican High Mountain Coffee. The Blue Mountain range is located in eastern Jamaica, surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. On clear days, sunlight shines directly onto the deep blue sea, and the peaks reflect the dazzling blue glow of the seawater, which is how the Blue Mountains got their name. The main peak of the Blue Mountains stands at 2,256 meters above sea level, the highest in the Caribbean region and also a famous tourist destination.

This region is located in a seismic zone, with fertile volcanic soil, fresh and pollution-free air, a humid climate, and frequent fog and rain year-round, with an average annual precipitation of about 1,980 millimeters and a temperature of about 27 degrees Celsius. It is precisely these natural conditions that have given rise to the world-renowned Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee and made it the second most expensive coffee in the world (the first being Kopi Luwak).

Characteristics of Front Street Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

Front Street Blue Mountain coffee beans are of extremely high quality. Visually, each bean is plump, uniform, and large, which is very beneficial for roasting. Taking the Front Street washed Blue Mountain Coffee produced by Front Street as an example, the roasted Blue Mountain coffee beans have a consistent color and carry distinct aromas of toasted bread and roasted almonds. The flavor is rich and mellow, with the three tastes of sweetness, acidity, and bitterness perfectly balanced, neither sour nor bitter on the palate, making it very pleasant.

All of this stems from the coffee revival plan launched by the Jamaican government in the 1950s.

In 1950, the Jamaican government established the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board, responsible for setting quality standards for Jamaican coffee and overseeing their enforcement to ensure coffee quality. The Board issues special official seals for green beans and roasted beans exported from Jamaica and, with the help of Japanese loans, improved production quality, thereby stabilizing the market.

In terms of cultivation, Jamaica grows pure Typica, introduced in the 18th century. Because Jamaica is a small island with limited contact with the outside world, it successfully avoided the global coffee leaf rust disaster of the 19th century, allowing its Typica coffee trees to be preserved. In terms of processing, Jamaica was one of the earliest producing regions to adopt washed processing technology. Washed processing can significantly improve coffee quality, which is one of the reasons why Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans are outstanding in quality.

Because Japan has long invested in Jamaica's coffee industry, most Blue Mountain coffee is controlled by the Japanese, who also obtained priority purchasing rights for Blue Mountain beans. In 1992, Jamaica sold 688 tons of Blue Mountain coffee to Japan, 75 tons to the United States, and 59 tons to the United Kingdom. At one point, the market situation was that "90% of Blue Mountain coffee beans were contracted by Japan, and other places could only obtain 10% of Blue Mountain," so regardless of price, Blue Mountain coffee was always in short supply. For the Japanese, their love for Blue Mountain borders on fanaticism, and even at Blue Mountain coffee farms in Jamaica, the presence of Japan's UCC can be seen everywhere.

After the contract between the two sides expired, it coincided with the global economic crisis. Japan's economy was in recession, purchasing power declined, and Jamaican coffee farmers were unwilling to continue being monopolized by Japanese merchants, so they significantly raised the prices of green coffee beans. At present, the amount of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee purchased by Japan has dropped from the previous 90% to less than 60%. Today, with the flourishing development of coffee culture, our country has long been able to directly import Blue Mountain coffee beans from Jamaica.

How to Identify Genuine vs. Fake Blue Mountain Coffee Beans?

Blue Mountain Coffee holds an extremely high status in the coffee world, so many counterfeit Blue Mountain-style coffees have appeared on the market. Perhaps you have drunk Blue Mountain coffee, but true Blue Mountain coffee is actually very difficult to identify.

Front Street summarizes that fake Blue Mountain on the market generally falls into two categories. The first is name edge-balling; such coffees are usually labeled "Blue Mountain flavor coffee," "Blue Mountain blend coffee," "Blue Mountain mixed coffee," etc. Seeing such names is enough to judge them as fake Blue Mountain, generally made with coffee beans from Brazil, Colombia, or Indonesia passed off as the real thing.

The second is genuine counterfeiting, using non-Blue Mountain coffee beans to impersonate Blue Mountain coffee beans. Strictly according to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 910 meters (3,000 feet) in elevation can be called Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, and it must be centrally purchased and processed by the 4 legally designated estates certified by the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board (CIB) to be called Blue Mountain coffee beans. The more egregious cases involve using other coffee beans as Blue Mountain beans, while milder cases involve using coffee from origins outside Jamaica's Blue Mountain core region to impersonate Blue Mountain coffee beans. In such cases, certification becomes essential.

The following three key points will be used for identification: export companies designated by the National Coffee Board, the only producing region that uses wooden barrels to pack green beans, and authorized certification certificates.

1. True Blue Mountain Coffee is exported by companies designated by the National Coffee Board.

Some authentic Blue Mountain No. 1 in the Chinese market is mainly exported to China by Japan, Australia, and Europe through directly operated branches. According to 2013 statistics from the International Coffee Organization (ICO), Japan accounted for 85% of the allocation, while the United States, Europe, and other countries each accounted for 5%.

ICO statistics show that China accounts for 15% of Blue Mountain coffee consumption. It is worth noting that the limited Blue Mountain No. 1 is mostly allocated to Japan, the United States, and Europe, and because Japan has invested in Jamaica's coffee industry, most Blue Mountain coffee is bought out by Japan. In 1992, Jamaica sold 688 tons of Blue Mountain coffee to Japan, 75 tons to the United States, and only 59 tons to the United Kingdom.

In 2005, Jamaica's Minister of Agriculture announced that Blue Mountain coffee should remain in Jamaica for roasting, so it was directly allocated through quotas, tending to flow directly from Jamaica to consuming countries. This allocation system was recognized by the Jamaica Coffee Board (CIB). (ps: The board members of CIB are estate owners with plantations above a certain scale in Jamaica.)

In addition, the officially registered logo of the Jamaica Coffee Board is used for certification inspection of exported Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, and the BLUEMOUNTAINCOFFEE trademark is the mark on the outer packaging of authentic Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.

And in 2022, our country has already had large-scale direct trade with Jamaica. For example, most of the Blue Mountain coffee beans from Clifton Farm and Silver Hill Estate are exported to our country, so if you see coffee introduction information indicating these estates as the producer, its credibility is greatly increased.

2. True Blue Mountain Coffee is the only producing region that uses wooden barrels to pack green beans.

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

During the mid-18th century British colonial period, flour shipped from Britain to Jamaica was packed in barrels, and after the empty barrels were recovered, they were used to transport coffee and rum to isolate coffee aromas and ensure coffee quality. The barrels used today are made from wood from temperate forests in the United States.

3. Certificate Certification

(1) Quality certificate issued by the Jamaica Coffee Board (2) Authorized sales certificate issued by Blue Mountain coffee producers. (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

Taking Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) as an example, Front Street possesses an authorized sales certificate issued by a Blue Mountain coffee producer. If consumers want to determine whether this is genuine Blue Mountain coffee, they can inquire with the seller whether there is an original wooden barrel, certificate, and other proof.

Why does Front Street use Blue Mountain coffee from Clifton Farm?

Clifton Estate is the oldest coffee estate in Jamaica, and in Jamaica only Clifton Farm has the "(RFA) Rainforest Water Frog" mark.

Only those that meet the "Sustainable Agriculture System Standards" can obtain certification, and its wooden barrels bear the rainforest certification mark.

In addition, the Jamaica Coffee Board (CIB) authorizes the 4 legally designated coffee estates of Wallenford, Jablum, Silver Hill, and Moy Hall to centrally process Blue Mountain coffee beans, and all Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee outer packaging is marked with the name of the estate that processed it. Mavis Bank Coffee Factory, established in 1923, is the largest Blue Mountain coffee estate, and its barrels are marked with M.B.C.F. At the same time, Clifton Farm's Blue Mountain coffee beans were also among the earliest batches imported to the mainland.

Blue Mountain Coffee Price

Many friends know that Blue Mountain coffee is very precious, but they do not know how much Blue Mountain coffee actually costs. In fact, Blue Mountain coffee is considerably more expensive than ordinary coffee beans, but in today's "Geisha era," the price of Blue Mountain coffee beans is still reasonable. Taking the retail price of Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) as an example, the roasted bean price of Front Street Jamaican Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee beans is 158 yuan/100g, even cheaper than Geisha coffee beans from famous estates today. If you want to go to a coffee shop to drink a cup of Front Street Blue Mountain pour-over coffee, it is only 60 yuan.

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