Since the last century, Blue Mountain coffee has been known worldwide for its full, solid, rich aroma, balanced flavor and mellow mouthfeel, and was once hailed as the "Emperor of Coffee." In addition, how did Blue Mountain coffee come to have such a rich and mellow taste?

Here we must mention Jamaica's unique island-type growing environment. Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea, located on the volcanic and seismic belt surrounding the Pacific. Coffee is mainly grown in the famous Blue Mountains range, which is itself a volcanic mountain range that erupted many years ago, bringing mineral-rich volcanic soil to the area.

Moreover, the Blue Mountains are the highest peak in the entire Caribbean region, so the air here is fresh, the climate humid, and the area is foggy and rainy all year round, providing an ideal growing environment for coffee cultivation. The high altitude creates a large temperature difference between day and night, giving the coffee fruit more time to develop flavor, so the resulting coffee is rich and mellow with balanced flavor.

The main coffee variety in Jamaica is Typica, one of the oldest coffee varieties still in existence. This variety is very suitable for growing at high altitudes, where it can achieve excellent flavor and quality. However, this variety is also relatively fragile, highly susceptible to leaf rust, vulnerable to nematodes and berry disease, and its yield is not high.

In addition to a high-quality growing environment, more meticulous care and cultivation are also needed to bring out this variety's excellent flavor and mouthfeel. Therefore, thanks to Jamaica's years of persistence and careful tending, Typica in the Blue Mountains can adapt well to the local climate and soil, with excellent flavor and having evolved better disease resistance.

Moreover, in the past, coffee farmers pursued yield more, but Jamaica is not large, making it difficult to plant coffee over large areas or on a large scale, so the country could only increase its market share by improving coffee quality.

Therefore, Jamaica has issued a series of strict standards. According to the regulations of the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA), only Typica variety coffee planted in the four parishes of St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland and St. Mary, and grown at an altitude between 915 m and 1700 m within this area, can be named Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee. Coffee produced in other areas can only be exported as Jamaica High Mountain coffee and Jamaica Prime coffee.

Due to the high altitude, cultivation management and picking are more difficult. The picking process is almost entirely carried out by local skilled female workers, who select coffee cherries that are just ripe. Afterwards, the beans are sent to a processing station for washed processing, during which dedicated personnel are responsible for quality supervision. Washed processing can restore the aroma of the coffee beans themselves to the greatest extent and showcase their basic flavors.

JACRA also grades according to items such as green bean specifications, defect rate and cupping flavor. Blue Mountain coffee is divided into four grades: No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and the hand-selected PB. All exports must pass JACRA's quality inspection. The highest grade, Blue Mountain No. 1 coffee, requires coffee bean specifications between 17 and 18 screen size, a defect rate below 2%, a moisture content of around 10-12.5%, and a cupping flavor that meets the standard.

To ensure quality and isolate coffee beans from the risk of contamination by light, odors and other undesirable smells during transportation, Jamaica has always insisted on using traditional wooden barrels to package and transport premium Blue Mountain coffee. Only in this way can its original flavor be maintained.

So when the green beans are received, the coffee particles are even and plump, and uniform in size. Through cupping, Qianjie found that there are chocolate and nut flavors, the overall flavor is balanced, and the mouthfeel is rich and silky. To highlight these characteristics of Blue Mountain coffee, a medium-dark roast is used. Qianjie's Blue Mountain coffee comes from Clifton Estate in the St. Andrew production area. After brewing, it has black chocolate, nut and caramel flavors, a creamy and smooth mouthfeel, a moderate body, a clean sweet finish, and overall balance.

To learn more about coffee origins and information, please scan the QR code to follow: Kaping

Long-press the QR code to follow: