The Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is one of the most exclusive coffees in the world. It is often referred to by connoisseurs as the “King of Coffee” or even the “Best Coffee in the World”. So it is not surprising that the price of fine coffee is over 70 dollars per pound. Another reason for this is probably the small quantities and the time-consuming manufacturing process of the coffee.
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Origin of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee
As the name suggests, Blue Mountain coffee comes from the Caribbean island of Jamaica. Up there in the heights of the blue mountains, the coffee plants thrive, the fruits of which later become one of the highest quality coffees in the world. Anyone who has ever visited the region in Jamaica will certainly remember the almost magical atmosphere in the middle of the fine mist on the mountain slopes of the island. The Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee grows at an altitude of 900 and 1700 meters above sea level and is grown exclusively by small farmers. The climate is characterized by cool temperatures, a lot of precipitation and fine fog. The cultivation area of the coffee specialty is just 6000 hectares in size, the region is heavily forested and is protected as a forest reserve. The coffee cherries are picked by hand, which guarantees perfect ripeness of the fruit.
History of the coffee rarity
The first coffee plants came to the Caribbean island of Jamaica in the 18th century. It quickly became apparent that the climate on the island was ideal for growing coffee. As early as 1815, the annual export volumes of the British crown were between 10,000 and 15,000 tons of coffee.
With the abolition of slavery in the 19th century and later in the middle of the 20th century, the workforce on the plantations became scarce, which is why the cultivation volume and quality declined sharply and coffee growing almost completely came to a standstill. Then the state-organized “Coffee Industry Board (CIB)” was founded, which has monitored coffee cultivation ever since and guarantees the quality and authenticity of the coffee sold. Exported coffee is awarded a certificate of authenticity by the Coffee Industry Board, which is supposed to make it more difficult for international counterfeiters. Overall, there are several quality grades of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, which differ in the size of the beans, moisture content, color and how they are stored.
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Many coffee connoisseurs will wonder why Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is now one of the best coffees in the world. The climatic conditions of the island, the cultivation only by small farmers and the nutrient-rich soils are certainly special, but similar requirements for a top product can also be found with many other coffees. The specialty is certainly the fine mist that covers the mountain region with its coffee plants in a fine veil almost all year round. As a result, there is practically no direct sunlight, which increases the ripening time of the coffee cherries enormously. With a ripening time of up to ten months, the coffee cherries have enough time to develop their own individual taste.
Another peculiarity is likely to be the bottling of the coffee beans . Only the coffee beans that have been classified in lower quality levels are filled into jute sacks. Green coffee of the higher classes is filled into the typical wooden barrels, which underlines that the raw coffee is a luxury product from the Caribbean. In terms of taste, however, the barrels have no influence on the raw product. The traditional wooden barrels weigh 15, 30 or 70 kilograms.
Japan purchases over 80 percent of the Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee harvest. The Japanese, who are generally regarded as connoisseurs of high-quality tea, are sometimes even served the coffee in first class on flights.
Classification of taste
The long ripening time of the coffee cherries in a wet, humid and cool climate has a strong influence on the taste of the coffee that will be made later. Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of trying an original Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee will describe their feelings at the first tasting as a mixture of surprise and conviction.
With the first sip, the surprise comes into play, because you don’t necessarily expect the individual taste of the coffee and it is difficult to compare the coffee with other coffees. With every sip you gain the conviction that the coffee is so extraordinarily good that you would like to drink more of it. After the first cup of coffee, people like to put another cup on the table. The coffee is mild, has a natural acidity and sweetness and is very aromatic. The aroma is very complex and can best be described as spicy and earthy. The body of the coffee is voluminous.
Conclusion
- The coffee specialty is characterized by its complexity in taste, which it receives from the long ripening time of the coffee cherries
- the quality of the coffee is strictly monitored by the state-run Coffee Industry Board
- the annual harvest is comparatively small, which makes the coffee even more valuable
- The Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is a top-quality coffee that impresses with its aromatic, yet mild, natural sweetness. Due to its small size and its high popularity, there are many forgeries on the market, but due to the lack of a certificate of authenticity, it should be easy to expose.
the Jamaica Blue Mountain Espresso from the Dinzler coffee roastery
As you may know, we like to drink high-quality specialty coffee and test quite a few coffee and espresso beans of all kinds. A few days ago we had a special highlight delivered: the Jamaica Blue Mountain Espresso from the Dinzler coffee roastery. Price per kilo: 230 $.
The inscription on the bean packaging alone makes you look forward to the coffee. Dinzler writes: “Coffee connoisseurs speak of themselves with awe. For many coffee connoisseurs, it is considered the best coffee in the world (…). Coffee enjoyment in the highest perfection with an unbelievable harmony between aroma, body, acidity, and a distinctive sweet taste. ” Sounds exciting at first, doesn’t it? In our test report on Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, we report on our experiences with perhaps the best coffee beans in the world.
The special thing about Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee
Due to the special climate in the mountain ranges of the Blue Mountains (frequent fog), the growth phase of the beans is slowed down. This allows the beans to develop their exceptional quality. Another special feature is that the Jamaica Blue Mountain is the only coffee in the world that is filled in small wooden barrels and then shipped worldwide.
The high price of this coffee is certainly noticeable: $ 25.50 for 100 g or $ 230 per kilo. We haven’t paid that for coffee beans yet … We asked ourselves why these beans are so expensive. On the one hand, the areas available in Jamaica are very limited. On the other hand, the Japanese discovered this coffee for themselves in the 1970s. A large part of the harvest (approx. 90%) still goes to Japan. Japanese customers pay a fortune for the exclusive coffee beans. Therefore, as a roastery in America, you have to put a lot of money on the table to get hold of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee at all. Against this background, this coffee will remain expensive for the time being.
Tip: Espresso bean guide: We’ll tell you what to look out for when buying espresso beans. Read the TangyCoffee espresso bean test now!
The bean image from Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee
The bean variety is called Jamaica Blue Mountain, which is a Typica derivative. The coffee is prepared wet and very carefully. The bean image is extremely homogeneous and has no defects, as you can see in the picture above.
The taste profile of the Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee
Jamaican coffees generally have a clean and sweet taste profile. We could taste this slight sweetness in the espresso well. Overall, the espresso tasted very balanced, harmonious, and elegant. What we had in the cup was exceptionally good. So a real top product.
Our recipe: We extracted 40 g espresso from 20 g coffee grounds (brew ratio 1: 2, processing time: 33 seconds, brewing temperature 93 ° Celsius).
Conclusion to our test
Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. So we were extremely excited to try this coffee. Our expectations were only partially met because this coffee didn’t knock us off our feet given the very high price. On the one hand, this can, of course, be due to the preparation as espresso, in which, as we know, the taste profile of a coffee does not come into its own. Our clouded enthusiasm may also be because our recipe did not extract the maximum taste from the coffee beans. Well, it was worth a try and we now know that we will not buy the Jamaica Blue Mountain as an espresso roast again, but will prefer a roast for filter coffee next time.
