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Legendary Coffee of Jamaica; Blue Mountain


Blue Mountain is one of the most well-known and recognized coffees in the coffee world. It is one of the coffees known by its name and known to everyone who loves coffee.

Today we will spend some time getting to know him in depth.

It grows in Jamaica's Blue Mountain Range, from where the name Blue Mountain comes from.

Blue Mountain coffee has its origin and is subject to the control of the Agricultural Products Regulatory Authority of Jamaica (formerly the Coffee Industry Board), which ensures the quality standards for this coffee by regulating all the processes involved in its production. Cultivation are some of the processing and roasting control methods to train growers and processors from harvest.

Processing is done by the wet method and after the coffee beans are obtained and dried in the sun, they are classified according to their size, the defective ones are sieved.

As with processing, grading is manual and requires a lot of skill.

One of the characteristics of this coffee is that it has a characteristic bluish-green color when raw.

Regarding packaging, it is well known that Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is available in white wooden barrels, which prevents the grain from being contaminated by odours.

It is a soft coffee with medium acidity, without much body, with a light woody aroma and a distinctive aroma.

It contains a percentage of caffeine around 1% and its appearance is original blue-green.

Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is probably one of the best beans you can get in your cup, and it's also a very low production coffee,

And these two elements mean that its price isn't exactly cheap, due to quality and limited production.

FEATURES OF BLUE MOUNTAIN COFFEE.

The Blue Mountain Coffee experience includes:


A cup of extraordinary balance, intense aroma and delicate flavor.

Citrus acidity, pleasant to medium.

Smooth and creamy body.

Sweet and long-lasting taste of exquisite experience.


BLUE MOUNTAINS OF JAMAICA

But let's take a hike in the Blue Mountains, a mountain range exceeding 2,000 meters where one of the most valuable coffee varieties is grown: Jamaica Blue Mountain.

In Jamaica, coffee began to be grown by the British Governor who brought it to the island in 1728.

The cultivation of this plant began in the mountainous system of the center of the island and gradually spread to the famous Blue Mountain.

The fact is that the mountain range has very interesting conditions for growing coffee.

There is moderate temperatures of about 22ºC, rich soil, abundant rain, almost continuous cloudiness.

Let us emphasize that in the Blue Mountains there is an important climatological phenomenon known as "fog", an almost continuous fog.

The fog created by the contrast of the heat of the ground and the mountain winds allows the coffee trees to bear fruit slowly for about 10 months in the volcanic soil of the island.

VERY LITTLE JAMAICA BLUE MOUNTAIN COFFEE IS MADE.

If we compare Jamaica's production with that of other countries, it is very small. Only 2% of world production takes place in Jamaica.

Let's be clear that not all Jamaican coffees are Blue Mountain.

This designation can only be applied to a small area in the mountains north of Kingston and only to coffee grown at altitudes above 3,000 feet, over a thousand meters, making it an altitude coffee.

Coffee cultivation on the island is produced on about 5,000 hectares, but only about 1,500 hectares produce the coffee we know as the Blue Mountain, the rest of Jamaican coffee does not bear this name of origin.

Taking into account that 80% of the annual production goes to Japan and goes to the rest of the world, it leaves us with very little room to consume the Jamaica Blue Mountain.



KEY FEATURES OF BLUE MOUNTAIN PRODUCTION.

HAND PACKING THE CHERRY OF THE COFFEE TREE

Hand picking is often a common feature of any fine coffee.

Coffee grows in small groups on the mountain where terrain permits, and the slopes of these mountains can become very steep.

Such a humid climate and terrain, in addition to being irregular, is quite dangerous, putting workers at great risk when choosing coffee.

An authentic Blue Mountain coffee goes through quality control extracts so only 85% of the total production is packaged as Blue Mountain.

And all this is done manually, not by machines, which increases production costs and affects the final price.


COFFEE QUALITY CONTROL

Jamaicans are aware that they have a unique product, and the “Jamaican Coffee Industry Board” not only trains growers and processors, but has set clear guidelines for the cultivation, harvesting, processing and roasting of Jamaican coffees in the region.

In addition, if a farm or its operator wishes to export its coffee, it must be tested and evaluated by the Board's own experts beforehand.

The coffee tasting is formal and meticulous.

Before tasting, the beans are checked green and roasted.

Coffee tasting is done with a blind test, that is, without knowing which farm or processor the coffee comes from, and a detailed evaluation form is filled out.

manufacturer's v Regardless of the reputation or reputation of the operator, if a coffee is not considered good enough, it will be rejected.


TRADITIONAL PACKAGING OF BLUE MOUNTAIN.

Blue Mountain coffee is always associated with its famous casks.

Jamaican coffee is the only coffee in the world that is transported in wooden barrels.

These barrels are made of white wood to prevent the grain from being contaminated by external odors or flavors.

As for physical stores, you can find Blue Mountain coffee in some gourmet or deli stores, but it's not a coffee you can find in a regular supermarket.

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