Trying out Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

During the stop at Falmouth, Jamaica on our cruise last month, I picked up a couple pounds of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. It has a reputation for being one of the best coffees in the world, and also pretty pricey. At $88.10/kg ($40/lb), it’s probably the most expensive coffee I’ve purchased so far. Not sure how much it would be purchased in the US though. Next time I’m out wandering around, I’ll have to look for some.

A bag of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans
A bag of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans

Inside the burlap bag, the coffee beans were encased in a sealed gold foil pouch. The beans themselves don’t look too unusual, and have a nice roasted coffee aroma to them.

Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans
Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans

Put a few scoops into my grinder (a Hario hand grinder) set to a medium-ish grind.

Ground Jamaica Blue Mountain beans
Ground Jamaica Blue Mountain beans

First thing I noticed was that these beans had quite a bit less chaff than other beans I’ve ground. Nice aroma of freshly ground beans. Into the Aeropress they went.

Ready to brew in the Aeropress
Ready to brew in the Aeropress

My regular Aeropress method is inverted, add water (just off the boil) to the top, stir, 60-90s brew time, press.

Brewed coffee
Brewed coffee

Normally I press into a mug that has a bit of chocolate milk in it (heated up in the microwave first). For this first brew, I went straight up black, so I just topped off the mug with hot water.

Brewed coffee ready for drinking
Brewed coffee ready for drinking

I’m far from a coffee snob and my coffee palate isn’t very refined so I can’t offer any tasting notes or anything like that. I can say that I ended up with a very nice, mild and tasty mug of coffee without much of the bitterness or strange after taste I get with some other coffees.

Maybe later I’ll try some taste testing to compare with some other coffees that I usually drink.