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Specifications & Quality
The Jamaica Blue Mountain bean is mostly Arabica Typica. The cherries are mainly delivered to the various producer-processor buying stations scattered around the Blue Mountains where they are subjected to float testing in specially built tanks. The larger farms & estates deliver the cherries directly to the processors' pulperies. The licensed estates have their own pulperies & finishing works.
Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is wet processed - normally by employing aqua pulpers (mucilage removal), although in a few limited cases, the operation is undertaken by the traditional fermentation method.
The green coffee, exportable in barrels, comes in three screen size classifications covering the classic Blue Mountain flatberry coffee. Additionally, small quantities of peaberry are available in barrels. The green beans from the strict Blue Mountain area are inspected by the statutorily based Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA, formerly the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica (CIB)), which handles, tests and arranges all the logistical side of exports. If the beans have too high a defect count or do not qualify in terms of size, shape, moisture content (max.12.5%), colour or cup any such non qualifying beans are categorised as Select.
Jamaica has (early 2008) signed a multilateral agreement sponsored by the Japanese concerning testing for pesticide and chemical agent residues to a standard significantly beyond the international phytosanitary levels requested by either the European Union or other European countries. All green coffees exported from Jamaica, including those to Europe, are now being tested to this higher standard.
Certain qualities of Select are allowed to be exported in bags as Jamaica Blue Mountain to such markets as Japan. The other rejected coffees enter the domestic roaster market for local consumption, including the tourist sector, as well as for export as roast Jamaica Blue Mountain. Coffee grown in other areas, mainly outside the Blue Mountains, may also be exported, albeit in limited quantities, and fall into two main classifications: High Mountain Supreme and Prime Washed Jamaican. These may not be called or employed as Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee.
Barrels
The approved Jamaica Blue Mountain green coffee for export is packed into three sizes of barrels; containing net weight green beans, respectively:
- 70kg (154lbs)
- 30kg (66lbs)
- 15kg (33lbs)
The barrels are sealed, ICO-marked with a unique number shown on the documents including the all-important Certificate of Origin. Additionally, the shipping marks of the registered exporter and official importer are stencilled on to the barrels of each shipping lot.
There are three sizes of Jamaica Blue Mountain flatberry:
- Grade or Size 1 (screen 17+)
- Grade or Size 2 (screen 16)
- Grade or Size 3 (screen 15/16)
The tare weights and dimensions of the empty barrels are:
Small-size Barrel (15kg net weight green bean):
Tare = 3.20kg
Circumference at Head = 93.50cm
Diameter at Head = 30.00cm
Circumference at Middle = 105.50cm
Height = 37.00cm.
Medium-size Barrel (30kg net weight green bean):
Tare = 4.50kg
Circumference at Head = 114.50cm
Diameter at Head = 36.00cm,
Circumference at Middle = 128.50cm
Height = 45.50cm
Large-size Barrel (69.85 kg net weight green bean):
Tare = 7.30kg
Circumference at Head = 143.00cm
Diameter at Head = 45.80cm
Circumference at Middle = 164.00cm
Height = 61.00cm
Pallet Configuration & Select
Standard Pallet Configuration (Non-Euro Pallet) by Barrel Size:
- 40 x 15kg barrels per pallet
- 21 x 30kg barrels per pallet
- 8 x 70kg barrels per pallet
Summary
1. The Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is stored in parchment, sometimes in bags & sometimes in wooden silos, before processing.
2.The coffee is dried by a combination of sun drying and mechanical drying. The parchment coffee is then stored in bags for at least 8 weeks and, after this resting period, the parchment is hulled. The resulting green coffee is graded by size and density, and the defects are hand-sorted. The coffee is finally packed in wooden barrels (70kg, 30kg, 15kg as described above).
3. The screen size grading equipment and the gravity table (classification by density) also clean the coffee. Later on, to repeat, the defects are picked out by hand.
4. The Grade 1 coffee is sieved to a screen 17+ (17/64 inches or 6.75mm) size with size grading equipment.
5. The bean humidity is 10.5-11.5%
6. Maximum defects allowed is 2%.
Description of Select
JBM Select Coffee is produced in the Jamaican government-designated area known as the Blue Mountain region. The Jamaica Blue Mountain Select grade is a combination of No. 1, No. 2 & No. 3 beans. As its provenance states, this is a coffee that has all the Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee cup quality characteristics and is packed green in 60kg net weight hessian/jute bags.
Maximum of 4% minor defects. Screen size from 15-18.
The normal location-sourcing split for JBM Select is:
Saint Andrew: 40%
Saint Thomas: 30%
Portland: 30%
Cupping Profile
Jamaica Blue Mountain Cupping Review
From the respected Coffee Review by Kenneth Davids:
91 Points
Blind Assessment: Sweet-toned, soft, very delicate aroma with orange, floral and pungently buttery (butterscotch?) notes. In the cup light to medium bodied but silky in mouthfeel, with a gently bittersweet character and crisp chocolate and orange peel notes. As the cup cools an attractive mint-like note also emerges. The chocolate and orange notes linger impressively in the long, clean finish.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:-
1) GENERAL
a. What makes JBM special?
The Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee brand is a legendary brand, it has a long history of
being recognized as the most luxurious and sophisticated coffee brand in the world.
Customers value its outstanding cup profile but also recognise the Jamaica Blue
Mountain as the most celebrated exotic coffee brand there is.
b. Which main aspects contribute to its quality?
The Jamaican Blue Mountain region has
a particular micro-climate that influences and distinguishes the taste of Jamaica Blue
Mountain coffee. The Arabica variety that produces the Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee
is Typica which is the same variety that has been present in Jamaica since coffee was
introduced to the island in the year 1728, Typica produces a coffee of outstanding
quality.
All this combined with a meticulous, quality oriented process, from farming, to
processing to exporting, makes Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee a product of
exceptional quality.
c. What is specific about this coffee? (Special character, taste, notes…)
How can you describe this coffee from the sensory point of view?
An exquisite
balance of aroma, body and acidity is the medley which makes Blue Mountain Coffee
very special. However, it is the mellow sweet aftertaste that separates this unique
coffee from all others.
d. What is the history of the variety in the region/country (how, from where and when
were they introduced?)
The Typica variety was introduced from the island of Martinique to Jamaica in the
year 1728 by the then British governor of Jamaica, Sir Nicholas Lawes.
Are there any other specificities from the agronomical or botanical point of view?
Typica is a tall stature plant with long internodes along the main branch and along
the branches. The beans are elongated in shape.
2) COUNTRY
a. Which are the GIS (geographical) coordinates of Jamaica?
Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea . Spanning 10,990 square
kilometres in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the
Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about 145 kilometres south of
Cuba, and 191 kilometres west of Hispaniola (the island containing the countries of
Haiti and the Dominican Republic ); the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman
Islands lies some 215 kilometres to the north-west. Its capital is Kingston whose GPS
coordinates are: 17°58′17″N 76°47′35″W
And in the region ?
Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is produced in the Blue Mountain region which is
located to the east of the island of Jamaica. The average altitude of 1000 meters. It is
nestled in the Grand Ridge which is home to Jamaica’s largest National Park and
Forest reserve.
b. How many coffee farms are in the country? 5000 farms
c. What is the average size of the farms in the country? 0.8 hectare.
d. What is the average number of coffee plants per hectare in the country?
1500 plants/hectare
e. What is the production per hectare in the country (Yield)? 150 kg of exportable green
bean
f. What are the geological details of the country?
The geology of Jamaica is formed of rocks of Cretaceous to Neogene age. The
basement consists of Cretaceous island arc and back-arc basin sequences that formed
above a subduction zone . The cover is of mainly Eocene to Miocene shallow water
limestones , that have been uplifted due to the presence of a restraining bend along
the major strike-slip faults that bound the southern edge of the Gonâve Microplate to
the north of the island.
g. What type of geomorphology?
Jamaica has coastal and in-land flat lands where sugar cane is produced and bauxite is
extracted and also steep mountain slopes where coffee is produced.
What types of soil?
There are 101 minor soil types in Jamaica. The most common soil types in Jamaica are:
Bonnygate Stony Loam and St. Ann Clay Loam.
h. What is the average humidity/rainfall?
The average rainfall for the island is 2,100 mm per year.
What is the average temperature?
In the coffee region the average temperature range is 16 to 24 Celsius.
What type slope? The slopes are very steep, can be as steep as 60 degrees.
What type of soil? The predominant soil type in the area is categorized as Halls Delight
Channery Clay Loam. This type of soil has a very rapid internal drainage.
What is the average humidity/rainfall? In the coffee region the average rainfall is 2250
mm per year.
i. What about sun/shade? Please describe the trees used for providing shadow to
plants in the region? Bananas, Blue Mahoe, Ingas
j. What is the harvest period of the diverse coffees in the country?
There are two harvest cycles:
1. Starts in late August/September and finishes late December/early January
2. Starts in late January/early February and ends in May/June
k. What is the annual production of green coffee exportable in the country? About 600
metric tons of exportable coffee.
j. What about the local organization (cooperative, etc.) of the country?
There are no cooperatives. Each farmer individually produces and sells
his coffee
3) HARVEST PROCESS
a. Please describe how coffee is picked in your country.
Selective hand picking, only fully ripe coffee is picked, one coffee cherry at a time.
b. What is the type of process used? (wet, pulped natural, honey, unwashed, etc)
Washed process.
c. What is the drying method (sun, mechanical, mix of both)?
Both, sun drying and mechanical drying
d. What is the storage method (is the grower doing the storage of the coffee or is
coffee delivered to the purchasing point)?
The coffee is delivered as fresh cherry by the farmers to purchasing points.
e. What is the typical bag used for internal storage (sisal, jute, PP, others)?
Once dried, the dry parchment is stored in wooden silos at mills located in the
capital city of Kingston
4) COFFEE ECONOMICS
a. What are the main natural resources in Jamaica apart from coffee?
Jamaica has natural resources, primarily bauxite, and an ideal climate conducive to
agriculture and also tourism.
b. How large is the coffee activity compared to other main activities?
The economy of Jamaica is heavily reliant on services, accounting for 70% of the
country's GDP. Jamaica has natural resources, primarily bauxite , and an ideal climate
conducive to agriculture and also tourism. The discovery of bauxite in the 1940s and
the subsequent establishment of the bauxite-alumina industry shifted Jamaica's
economy from sugar and bananas . Today coffee represents less than 1% of total
export revenue.
5) LOCAL CONSUMPTION. ETC.
a. What is the percentage of coffee consumed locally? And which type?
The totality of the non-exportable coffee, which amounts to 30% of total production, is consumed
domestically, along with certain amounts of premium/exportable coffee which is
utilized by the hotel/tourist industry. The local population drinks mostly instant coffee
but tourists tend to consume roast coffee. The average coffee consumption is 2.3kg per
capita per year.
b. Are there any specific customs/habits/traditions/legends/ anecdotes linked to
coffee?
Jamaica is a former British colony and, as a result, the culture is more oriented
to tea consumption.
In terms of coffee exports, the aspect that has differentiated Jamaica from the rest
of the world is the type of package that is used to export its green coffee beans.
While the rest of the world’s coffee producing countries tend to employ jute bags to export their
coffee, Jamaica throughout its history has exported its green coffee in wooden
barrels assembled by hand.
c. Specificities related to the coffee culture
Jamaicans show a preference of drinking their coffee sweetened with condensed milk.