The History and Classification of Blue Mountain Coffee

Blue Mountain Coffee refers to coffee brewed from beans from the Blue Mountains of Jamaica.

Blue Mountain Coffee is the most superior coffee in the world, with less production and scarcity. The Blue Mountains are located in the eastern part of the island of Jamaica, hence its name because it is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea. On clear days, the sun shines directly on the blue sea, and the peaks reflect the bright blue light of the sea. The highest peak of the Blue Mountains, which is 2256 meters above sea level, is the highest peak in the Caribbean and a famous tourist attraction. Located in the coffee belt, with fertile volcanic soil, fresh air, no pollution, humid climate, foggy and rainy all the year round (the average precipitation is 1980 mm, the temperature is around 27 degrees), this climate has created the world-famous Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. It also creates the highest price coffee in the world. This kind of coffee has the characteristics of all good coffee, not only full-bodied and mellow, but also because of the perfect combination of sweet, sour and bitter coffee, it has no bitter taste at all, only a moderate and perfect sour taste. It is generally drunk on a single product, but because the output is very small and the price is extremely expensive, it is generally made with coffee with a similar taste on the market.

The "secret" of why Blue Mountain coffee tastes pure: their coffee trees are all on rugged hillsides, and the picking process is so difficult that non-local skilled women are simply unable to do it. It is very important to choose the right ripe coffee beans when picking. Immaturity or ripeness will affect the quality of the coffee. The picked coffee beans are shelled on the same day, and then let them ferment for 18 hours. After that, the coffee beans were cleaned and screened. The subsequent process is to dry, which must be carried out on the cement floor or on a thick blanket until the humidity of the coffee beans drops to 12% 14%. And then store it in a special warehouse. Take it out and roast when needed, then grind it into powder. These procedures must be strictly mastered, otherwise, the quality of coffee will be affected.

History.

In 1717 King Louis XV of France ordered coffee to be grown in Jamaica, and in the mid-1920 s, the Governor of Jamaica, Nicholas. Nicholas Lawes imported Arabica seeds from Martinique and began to plant them in St. Andrew. To this day, St. Andrews is still one of the three major producers of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, with the other two producing areas: Portland (Portland) and St. Thomas (St.Thomas). In eight years, Jamaica exported more than 375 tons of pure coffee. In 1932, coffee production reached its peak and more than 15000 tons of coffee was harvested.

In 1950, the Government of Jamaica established the Jamaica Coffee Industry Committee (the Jamaica Coffee Industry Board), which sets quality standards for Jamaican coffee and oversees the implementation of quality standards to ensure the quality of Jamaican coffee. The Commission awarded special official seals to raw and roasted coffee exported from Jamaica, which is the highest-level national coffee institution in the world. At present, there are six kinds of marks that can represent the origin of Blue Mountain Coffee, such as Mavis Bank Coffee Factory (M.B.C.F), Blue Mountain Coffee Co-operative Factory (M.H.C.C.T.), Portland Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative Factory (P.X.X.S.H.), Coffee Industry Association (Wallenford), Coffee Industry Association (St. John's Peak) and J.A.S.

By 1969, the situation had improved because the use of Japanese loans had improved the quality of production, thus ensuring the market. By now, this kind of coffee has reached the point of being feverishly loved.

By 1981, about 1500 hectares of land in Jamaica had been reclaimed for coffee cultivation, followed by the opening of another 6000 hectares of coffee land. In fact, today's Blue Mountain area is a small area with a planting area of only 6000 hectares, and it is impossible to grow all the coffee marked "Blue Mountain" there. Another 12000 hectares are used to grow two other types of coffee: Alpine Top Coffee and Jamaican Superior Coffee.

Geographical advantage

Blue Mountain Coffee is the most superior coffee in the world, and the weather, geological structure and topography of Jamaica provide an ideal place. The ridge that runs through Jamaica extends to the eastern part of the island, with the Blue Mountains rising to more than 2100 meters. Cool weather, foggy, frequent precipitation, use this rich soil Rain Water to reconcile. Here, a mixed planting method is used to grow coffee trees to accompany banana trees and avocado trees on terraces. Some small estates are also planted. But even the largest landowners in the region are small-scale growers by international standards, many of whom are small landowners whose families have been working for two centuries. The coffee industry in Jamaica faces a series of problems, such as the impact of hurricanes, increased labor costs and difficult mechanization of terraces. Many small estates and farms are difficult to rationalize.

As Japan has always invested in the Jamaican coffee industry, most of the Blue Mountain Coffee is now owned by the Japanese, and they have also obtained the right of priority to buy Blue Mountain Coffee. In 1992, Jamaica sold 688 tons of Blue Mountain coffee to Japan, 75 tons to the United States and 59 tons to Britain. Now, 90% of Blue Mountain coffee is bought by the Japanese. Now, because the rest of the world can only get 10% of Blue Mountain, regardless of the price, Blue Mountain coffee is always in short supply.

classification

There are three varieties of Jamaican coffee: Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee (Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee), Alpine Coffee (Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee Beans) and Jamaican Coffee (Jamaica Prime Coffee Beans). Among them, Blue Mountain Coffee and Alpine Coffee are each divided into four grades. From top to bottom in terms of quality, NO.1, NO.2, NO.3 and PB,PB are round beans. According to CIB standards, only coffee grown above 666m above sea level is called Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, while coffee grown in Jamaica's Blue Mountain area below 666m is called Alpine Coffee, and coffee grown outside the Blue Mountains is called Jamaican Coffee. It turns out that people in the coffee industry in China generally have a wrong understanding that only coffee grown in the Blue Mountains above 1800 meters above sea level can be called Blue Mountain Coffee. In fact, there is only one manor on the top of the Blue Mountains above 1800, that is, Amber, which is of Chinese descent. The owner of the manor is surnamed Lyn (Lin). Originally from Guangdong, China, the manor has a land area of only 30 hectares and its output is very small. Blue Mountain Coffee is mainly distributed in 5 mountainous areas such as John Crow,St.John's Peak,Mossman's Peak,High Peak,Blue Mountian Peak in the Blue Mountains.