Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee – a “must-know” specialty coffee.

In the coffee world, it is common that most avid coffee drinkers consume premium blended-coffee. Nevertheless, when it comes to a single origin coffee (some also call single estate coffee), there is no coffee aficionado who does not know Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, one of the most expensive and sought-after coffees in the world. This specialty coffee has already been charming the world’s strictest coffee tasters.

Strictest procedures of quality control are carried out to protect its reputation

The reputation of this coffee has been recognized globally for decades thanks to its integrated and trusted quality control procedures. The Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica is the only authority that can certify this coffee and restrict the areas where this type of coffee can be cultivated. This action is done in order to protect the trademark of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee from being counterfeited. A strict screening and selecting process before packaging is carried out by the Board to ensure the quality of the coffee. It is said that at least 96% of the beans must be the same in color, specifically bluish-green. However, fake or blended with lower quality coffee beans Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee are still available in many markets. Therefore, unusually low price Blue Mountain Coffee could be regarded as a faked one because the counterfeiting producers reduce the amount of true coffee beans in their coffee products.

How high is Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee cultivated?

Being strictly regulated not only in the regions but also in the growing conditions is the key reasons that make this type of coffee truly special. The condition in which Blue Mountain Coffee is cultivated is a cool and misty climate with high rainfall, rich soil, lush vegetation, good drainage, and a favorable elevation of 1,800 feet to 5,500 feet. At this elevation of a mountain, the temperature is cooler than the rest ones. This requirement of height is also to provide a lower level of oxygen for coffee trees so that they need more time to mature, which produces higher quality of coffee beans.

A certificate certifies the origin of Jamaica blue mountain coffees.

Not all coffees from Jamaican mountains share the same quality

Not all coffee planted in Jamaica mountain are the same in quality. There are three main types of Jamaica mountain coffees. The classification of this coffee is as follows: only coffee grown at elevations between 3,000 and 5,500 feet (1,700 m) could be called Jamaica Blue Mountain. Coffee cultivated at the heights between 1,500 and 3,000 feet (910 m) is called Jamaica High Mountain, and coffee grown below 1,500-foot (460 m) elevation is called Jamaica Supreme or Jamaica Low Mountain. The belief in growing this coffee is that the higher the altitude is the better the taste gets.

How do Jamaican farmers cultivate this specialty coffee?

Jamaica has around 10,000 coffee farmers. All ripened coffee beans are harvested by hand picking on dangerously steep slopes of the mountains. The slope could be of 60 degrees, which makes the picking process an unsafe and difficult task. This is also an explanation for the remarkably high price of it. Nowadays, an 8-oz (roughly 208 grams) bag of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is priced around $26. It is ranked sixth among the world’s most expensive coffees according to The Richest.

Being grown in such conditions, Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee comes out to be a perfect combination of unique aroma, full-bodied taste, moderate acidity and subtly balanced smooth finish. In the end, it could be concluded that most of the highest quality commodities such as wine, coffee or even flower are often grown in the harshest conditions.