Jamaican Blue Mountain - Coffee worth every penny
By: Cory Willins

The island of Jamaican is known for many things, sandy beaches, reggae music, Bob Marley and coffee. The high regard for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee among avid coffee drinkers has driven its price up to between $26 and $40 a pound. What is it about this particular brew that warrants such a high price tag?

True to its name, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is grown in the Blue Mountain region of Jamaica, generally located between Kingston to the south and Port Maria to the north. Rising to 7,500 feet, the Blue Mountains are the highest point in the Caribbean. The area is characterized by cool, wet weather and dark, rich soil with good drainage, ideal conditions for cultivating coffee. Though coffee is not native to Jamaica, it is the chief export of the island.

The quality of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is so fiercely regulated that the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica even restricts the geographic area that can produce it to the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland and St. Mary. The Board has also trademarked the distinguished name all over the world so that not just any grind can try to pass as Jamaican Blue Mountain.

The Coffee Industry Regulation Act imposed a specific system of grading beans being considered for the honor. There are three different grades of Jamaican Blue Mountain based on screen size. Screen refers to the dimension of the screen used to separate the beans by size. The philosophy behind this method is that coffee beans grown in higher altitudes are larger and have flavors superior to beans grown in lower altitudes.

The screening process also eliminates maragogipe, or elephant beans, a mutant strain of large, green beans that originated in Brazil. They are porous and generally adopt the flavor of the soil they grow in, and while mixed opinions exist about their worth, they are considered an intolerable defect for purposes of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee production.

Specifications for Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee are very rigid. At least 96 percent of the beans must be of a uniform screen and a consistent, bluish-green color. A maximum two percent of beans may deviate slightly from this standard, but black or sour beans and any kind of foreign matter are unacceptable and do not fall under the two-percent rule.

The illustrious name, sweet, full-bodied flavor of Jamaican Blue Mountain have made it one of the most famous and sought after coffees on the planet, and the effort put into its careful cultivation and processing, along with the fact that it can only be grown in limited quantities, no doubt contribute to its high price. It will remain a treasured commodity as long as coffee drinkers world wide continue to demand it.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

To find more articles by Cory Willins, visit The Gourmet Coffee Site where you can find many coffee resources including information about gourmet coffee baskets, coffee forums, reviews and more.

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