JACRA Certification and How to Read a Blue Mountain Label

Jamaica Blue Mountain is a protected name. In Jamaica, only coffee grown in the legally defined Blue Mountain area may be sold as Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, and use of the name needs written authority from the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA). Blends must contain at least 30% Blue Mountain coffee by weight.

What is JACRA?

JACRA regulates coffee, cocoa, coconut and four spices: nutmeg, pimento, ginger and turmeric. It began operating on 1 January 2018 under the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority Act of 2017. It combined the Coffee Industry Board, the Cocoa Industry Board, the regulatory functions of the Coconut Industry Board, and the Export Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining.

For coffee, JACRA took over the work of the Coffee Industry Board. The Board was established on 2 June 1950 under the Coffee Industry Regulation Act of 1948. It licensed processors and dealers, set quality standards, certified coffee for export and acted as the sole exporter of green beans. The industry was formally deregulated in 2000. The longer story is on the history page.

Today JACRA's coffee division licenses and monitors dealers, manufacturers, processors, coffee works and nurseries, and licenses use of the trademarks. The marks are owned by Coffee Marks Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of JACRA. It holds the Jamaica Blue Mountain® and Jamaican High Mountain Supreme® trademarks and is responsible for their licensing.

The system reaches back to the farm. JACRA issues certificates of registration to growers and keeps a Register of Registered Growers and Registered Properties. Licensed dealers must record each purchase and sale, including the registered grower and property the coffee came from, and keep those records for at least seven years. JACRA's inspectors carry identification cards issued by the Authority and report in forms set out in the regulations.

What may legally be called Jamaica Blue Mountain?

The Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority Regulations, 2018 define four protected names:

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

Coffee grown in the Blue Mountain area of Jamaica, as described in a schedule to the regulations.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend Coffee

Any coffee or coffee product containing Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee amounting to not less than 30% of its weight.

Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee

The premium grades of Jamaican coffee grown outside the Blue Mountain area.

Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Blend Coffee

A blend containing not less than 30% Jamaica High Mountain Supreme coffee by weight.

Without written authority from JACRA, no one may buy, sell or export any other coffee under a name containing the words “Blue Mountain” or “High Mountain”, or carry on related trade that uses those words. On conviction in a Parish Court, the penalty is a fine of up to two million Jamaican dollars. Where the Blue Mountain area lies is described on the Blue Mountain region page.

Outside Jamaica, protection rests on trademark law. According to WIPO, Blue Mountain coffee is registered as a certification mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (No. 1,414,598), as a trademark in the European Union (No. 002093060) and as a certification trademark in the United Kingdom (No. 1222993).

What are the rules for Blue Mountain blends?

The 2018 regulations set a minimum of 30%. A product sold as Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend Coffee must contain Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee amounting to not less than thirty percent of its weight. The same 30% floor applies to Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Blend Coffee.

Older sources may quote 20%. That was the figure in the Coffee Industry Regulations of 1953, which defined a “blue mountain blend” as containing not less than 20% Blue Mountain coffee by weight. The 2018 regulations use 30%.

A separate rule protects Jamaican coffee in general. Roasted coffee made from imported green beans may not be sold in Jamaica or exported unless it is a blend containing at least 30% coffee grown and produced in Jamaica.

The regulations define blends by content. In the text we reviewed, they do not prescribe exact wording for a blend label. Retailers commonly advise that a blend should state its Blue Mountain percentage on the pack. A 2022 Coffee Intelligence report described “Blue Mountain blends” containing as little as 10% authentic beans. If a blend does not state its percentage, ask the seller. For how blends differ from single-origin coffee, see single origin vs blend coffee.

How do the certification mark and licenses work?

A certification mark tells buyers that a product meets a standard set by the mark's owner. Here the standard is Blue Mountain origin and JACRA's checks. Use of the mark is licensed. JACRA's license types for coffee include:

Coffee Dealer's License

For those who grow, produce, process or sell green and roasted beans. Applicants must show a farm or production capacity of at least 6,000 boxes of cherry coffee a year and must hold a Trademark User License.

Special Coffee Dealer's License

For those who buy roasted beans or ground coffee from a licensed coffee dealer and sell it on. Special dealers may not trade in green beans, must hold a Trademark User License and may use their own labels.

Coffee Works License

For those who process, clean or otherwise prepare coffee berries for sale.

Nursery Operator License

For nurseries raising Arabica Typica and other recommended seedlings for sale to farmers.

Local and Foreign Importer Licenses

Local importers may bring in finished coffee products only. Foreign importers, based outside Jamaica, trade in green or roasted beans and must name licensed Jamaican suppliers.

Trademark User License

For dealers and foreign importers who use their own labels and are authorised to use the Jamaica Blue Mountain and High Mountain Supreme marks. Licensees may grant sub-licenses with approval.

A coffee dealer's license is also subject to a User License Agreement with Coffee Marks Limited. Licenses carry conditions too. Coffee dealers and special coffee dealers must produce a business plan showing their investment in a registered coffee property and its expected yield, and coffee dealers must agree to grow the amount of coffee that JACRA stipulates. JACRA publishes a list of active licensees, with license types and numbers, on its website.

Mamre Blue, which publishes this guide, was approved by JACRA as a Special Coffee Dealer and Trademark User Licensee in January 2021.

Exported green coffee travels with a certificate of authenticity. JACRA has also announced a traceability platform, Verified & True, under which buyers would be able to scan QR codes on products to check them.

Reading the bag: a checklist

1. Read the name exactly. Look for “Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee” or a clear statement such as “100% Jamaica Blue Mountain”. Phrases such as “Blue Mountain style” are not among the four names defined in law.
2. Check for a blend percentage. A Jamaica Blue Mountain blend must contain at least 30% Blue Mountain coffee by weight. If the word “blend” appears without a figure, ask.
3. Look for the certification mark. Importers and industry groups advise buyers to check for the Jamaica Blue Mountain seal. JA Coffee notes that the seal exists in two versions.
4. Identify the licensee. Find the name of the brand owner, roaster or packer and check it against JACRA's published list of active licensees.
5. Don't confuse High Mountain with Blue Mountain. Jamaica High Mountain Supreme is genuine Jamaican coffee from outside the Blue Mountain area. It is a different product with its own mark.
6. Look for a traceability code. Some packs carry QR codes or identification numbers. Where a code exists, scan or check it.
7. Note the grade and estate, if given. These are useful but optional. See grading and estates.
8. Weigh the price. Jamaica is a small producer; JACRA ranks it 45th in world coffee production. A price far below other certified offers is a reason to ask questions.

A fuller walk-through is in the Blue Mountain coffee buying guide.

Where do imitations tend to appear?

Industry reports point to a few recurring patterns:

• Products sold as “Blue Mountain style”, or with similar wording that suggests Jamaican origin without claiming it.
• Blends labeled “Blue Mountain blend” that give no percentage, or that contain far less than the legal minimum.
• Names that rearrange or trim the words, such as “Blue Mountain Jamaica”. Perfect Daily Grind lists these alongside “style” and blend products as names to check carefully.
• Counterfeit or misrepresented coffee. In 2020 JACRA announced an enforcement drive against copycat coffee, including seizures, saying the illegal trade was costing the sector millions of dollars.

Coffee Intelligence reported in 2022 that businesses were trying to profit from demand for Jamaican coffee in China, and that JACRA had partnered with Amazon to verify coffee sellers on that platform. When buying online, check the seller against JACRA's licensee list before you pay.