Blue Mountain coffee glossary

This glossary explains the words you are likely to meet when reading about or buying Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee. It covers the legal and licensing terms used by JACRA, the language of Blue Mountain grading and processing, and the everyday coffee vocabulary found on labels and in tasting notes.

Definitions are short and based on the sources listed at the foot of the page. For fuller explanations, see the guides to grading, certification and processing from cherry to cup, or start with the field guide overview.

Acidity

A bright, sharp or tangy sensation in brewed coffee, often likened to biting into an orange. Tasters treat it as a desirable quality. See is Blue Mountain coffee low acid?

Aftertaste

The flavor that lingers after coffee is swallowed, sometimes called the finish. It is one of the attributes judged when coffee is cupped.

Arabica

Coffea arabica, the species descended from coffee trees first found in Ethiopia. It gives mild, aromatic coffees with less caffeine than robusta. Blue Mountain coffee is grown from arabica varieties such as Typica.

Aroma

The smell of brewed coffee, assessed during cupping. Tasters describe aromas with words such as fruity, floral, nutty, chocolatey, earthy and spicy.

Association of Japanese Importers of Jamaican Coffee

The Japanese trade group whose request led Japan's government to recognize 9 January as Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Day, first observed in 2019.

Barbecue

In Jamaica, a large, flat drying floor, usually concrete, on which washed parchment coffee is spread in the sun. Drying on the barbecue removes about 30% of the beans' water.

Barrel

The wooden cask in which the top grades of Blue Mountain coffee are traditionally exported. Importers list 70, 30 and 15 kilogram sizes; one estate says its barrels are made of aspen.

Blend

Coffee made by combining beans from more than one origin, farm or grade. When a blend contains Blue Mountain coffee, check how much. See Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend and single origin versus blend.

Blue and John Crow Mountains

The mountain landscape of eastern Jamaica inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 3 July 2015. It was Jamaica's first World Heritage Site and the Caribbean sub-region's first mixed cultural and natural site.

Blue Mountain area

The zone set out in the First Schedule of JACRA's 2018 regulations by a boundary running through named places such as Skibo, Chelsea and Dallas. Only coffee grown inside it is Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. See the region.

Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative

A growers' cooperative based in Cedar Valley, St Thomas. In 2004 it held its annual meeting at the Moy Hall Coffee Factory and opened a store for 60,000 boxes of coffee.

Blue Mountain Peak

Jamaica's highest point, at 2,256 meters (7,402 feet). Coffee is grown on the lower and middle slopes of the range, while the highest slopes remain forested.

Body

The weight and texture of coffee in the mouth, sometimes compared to the difference between whole and skimmed milk. It is also called mouthfeel.

Box

The unit in which Jamaican farmers sell coffee cherry and in which the crop is counted. The Jamaica Observer has described it as a 60-pound box of cherries.

Caffeine

The natural stimulant in coffee. Arabica beans contain about 0.8 to 1.4% caffeine and robusta about 1.7 to 4.0%. See caffeine in Blue Mountain coffee.

Certificate of registration

A document JACRA issues to a grower of a regulated crop such as coffee. The property's details are entered in the Register of Registered Growers and Registered Properties, which is updated every year.

Certification mark

A registered mark showing that goods meet a stated origin or standard. Jamaica Blue Mountain is registered as a certification mark in the United States and as a certification trade mark in the United Kingdom.

Cherry

The fruit of the coffee plant, which usually holds two seeds that become coffee beans. Cherries turn from green to red as they ripen, a slow process in the cool, misty Blue Mountains.

Coffee Dealer's License

A JACRA license for those who grow, produce, process or sell green and roasted coffee. Applicants must show capacity of at least 6,000 boxes of cherry a year over the previous three years.

Coffee Industry Board

Jamaica's coffee regulator from 2 June 1950, when it was established under the 1948 Coffee Industry Regulation Act, until JACRA took over its functions on 1 January 2018.

Coffee Industry Regulation Act

The Jamaican law of 1948 under which the Coffee Industry Board was created to develop the coffee industry, support the people working in it and protect the quality of Jamaican coffee.

Coffee leaf rust

A disease caused by the fungus Hemileia vastatrix. It covers leaves with spores and makes them fall, reducing flowering and yield. Typica, the traditional Blue Mountain variety, is susceptible.

Coffee Marks Limited

The company, wholly owned by JACRA, that owns the Jamaica Blue Mountain and Jamaican High Mountain Supreme trademarks. Coffee dealer licenses are granted subject to a user license agreement with it.

Coffee works

A licensed processing plant where coffee cherry is pulped, fermented, dried, cleaned or otherwise prepared for sale. Operators need a JACRA Coffee Works License and must record where their coffee comes from. See the estates directory.

Crop year

The season used to report coffee output, written across two calendar years, such as the 2021/22 crop year. Blue Mountain output is usually reported in boxes of cherry.

Cupping

The standard way professionals taste and compare coffees. Tasters smell the brewed coffee, then slurp it from a spoon to judge aroma, acidity, body, sweetness, flavor and aftertaste.

Cured parchment

Parchment coffee that has been fully dried in mechanical dryers after the barbecue. The Jamaica Observer puts its moisture at about 10 to 12.5%.

Defect

A flawed bean or other fault found in green coffee. Grade standards limit defects, and processors remove them by machine and by hand, including beans of an off color.

Degassing

The release of carbon dioxide from freshly roasted coffee. Roasters let beans de-gas for several days before sealing them in airtight or vacuum packs.

Density sorting

Separating green beans by how heavy they are for their size. Blue Mountain processors such as Wallenford grade beans by both size and density before final sorting.

Estate

A named coffee property. Some Blue Mountain estates run their own coffee works and sell under their own names; others send their cherry to a central works.

Export custody

A rule in JACRA's 2018 regulations: green coffee approved for export stays in JACRA's physical custody, and JACRA exports it on the dealer's behalf, while the dealer keeps ownership.

Farm-gate price

The price paid to a grower at the farm. For Blue Mountain coffee it is quoted per box of cherry and has varied widely; the Jamaica Observer reported about J$10,000 per box in March 2025.

Fermentation

In the washed process, the stage in which pulped beans rest while microbes break down the sticky mucilage, which is then washed off with water.

First crack

A cracking sound during roasting, at around 196°C (385°F), as moisture escapes and the beans expand. It marks the beginning of a very light roast.

Flavor notes

Words tasters use for the flavors they perceive, such as chocolate, citrus or floral. Importers often mention chocolate for Blue Mountain coffee. See coffee tasting notes explained.

Foreign Importer License

A JACRA license for businesses outside Jamaica that trade in green or roasted Jamaican coffee. JACRA publishes licensed foreign importers alongside dealers and trademark users.

Gesha

An arabica variety, also spelled Geisha, from the Gesha area of south-west Ethiopia. It became famous through Panamanian competitions in the 2000s, and some Blue Mountain estates now grow it.

Grade

A class given to green coffee by bean size and defect count. The main Blue Mountain grades are No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and Peaberry. See the grading guide.

Great house

The main residence of a historic Jamaican estate. Craighton House, believed to have been built in 1805, and the great houses at Clifton Mount and Whitfield Hall stand in Blue Mountain coffee country.

Green coffee

Unroasted coffee beans, the form in which coffee is graded, stored and traded between countries. Blue Mountain green coffee is exported under JACRA's supervision.

Hand sorting

Picking faulty beans out of green coffee by eye and by hand, after machine sorting. A WIPO case study treats it as central to the quality of Jamaican coffee.

High Mountain Supreme

Short for Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee: the premium grades of Jamaican coffee grown outside the Blue Mountain area. It is a separate registered trademark and may not be sold as Blue Mountain coffee.

Hulling

Removing the dried parchment layer from the bean before grading. At Jamaican coffee works the huller also polishes the beans, taking off any remaining silverskin.

JABLUM

The roasted coffee brand of Mavis Bank Coffee Factory, launched in 1982. The Jamaica Observer credits it with starting the marketing of Blue Mountain coffee as a value-added product.

JACRA

The Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority, which began operating on 1 January 2018. It regulates coffee, cocoa, coconut and spices, sets quality standards and certifies Blue Mountain coffee. See certification.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend

Under JACRA's 2018 regulations, a coffee or coffee product in which Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee makes up at least 30% of the weight.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

The legal term, in JACRA's 2018 regulations, for coffee grown in the Blue Mountain area of Jamaica. Jamaica Blue Mountain is also a registered trademark owned by Coffee Marks Limited.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Day

9 January, observed in Jamaica and Japan since 2019. It marks the large shipment of Jamaican coffee sent to Japan on 9 January 1967.

Jamaica Coffee Exporters Association

An association of Jamaican coffee exporters. It worked with JACRA and the trade agency Jamaica Promotions (JAMPRO) on events for the first Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Day in 2019.

Jamaica Coffee Growers Association

A body established in 1995 to represent the interests of Jamaican coffee farmers. Donald Salmon of Sir John's Peak Estate is listed as its president.

Maroons

Jamaicans descended from Africans who freed themselves from slavery and built independent communities in the island's mountainous interior. Their heritage in the Blue and John Crow Mountains is part of the area's UNESCO listing.

Masl

Meters above sea level, a common unit for farm elevation. Blue Mountain elevations are often given in feet instead; 1,000 meters is about 3,280 feet.

Mechanical dryer

A machine, such as a rotary drum, that finishes drying parchment coffee after sun-drying on the barbecue, bringing its moisture down to the level needed for resting.

Moisture content

The share of water in coffee beans. Jamaican processors dry parchment to about 10 to 12.5% moisture; one importer cites 10.5 to 11.5% for green beans.

Mucilage

The sticky, sugary layer between the coffee cherry's pulp and the parchment. It is removed by fermentation and washing, or by machine.

Natural process

A method in which whole cherries are dried in the sun before the fruit is removed. It contrasts with the washed process that Blue Mountain coffee works describe.

No. 1 grade

The top Blue Mountain grade, made up of the largest beans. Importers and a 2016 study describe it as screen 17 to 18, and one importer cites a limit of 2% defects.

No. 2 grade

The second Blue Mountain grade, with beans slightly smaller than No. 1, generally described as screen 16.

No. 3 grade

The third Blue Mountain grade, with smaller beans than No. 2, described in different sources as screen 15 or 15 to 16.

Nursery Operator License

A JACRA license for nurseries that raise seedlings of Arabica Typica and other recommended coffee varieties for planting.

Parchment

The papery layer around each coffee seed. After pulping, coffee is dried and rested in its parchment, which is removed at hulling.

Peaberry

A bean from a cherry that developed one seed instead of two, giving a small, rounded bean. Peaberries make up roughly 10 to 15% of coffee beans and are graded separately.

Pod

A single-serve portion of ground coffee sealed in a filter pad or capsule, made for use in a compatible brewing machine.

Pulping

The first processing step, in which machines strip the skin and pulp from freshly picked cherries, leaving the beans in their parchment.

Q grader

A professional coffee taster trained in standardized evaluation protocols, who carries out formal cupping assessments of coffee quality.

Reaping

The word used in Jamaica for harvesting a crop. On Blue Mountain farms, coffee cherries are reaped by hand as they ripen.

Resting

Storing dried parchment coffee before hulling. Wallenford rests it in silos for eight to ten weeks; the Jamaica Observer reports 12 to 40 weeks in warehouses.

Roast date

The date on which coffee was roasted. Roasted coffee goes stale when exposed to heat, oxygen and light, so buyers use the roast date to judge freshness.

Roast level

How far coffee is roasted. Light roasts are lighter-bodied with higher acidity; medium roasts have more body and some roast flavor; dark roasts are full-bodied and bittersweet.

Robusta

Coffea robusta, a species from the forests of central and western sub-Saharan Africa. It gives strong, bitter flavors, has more caffeine than arabica and is used mainly in blends and instant coffee.

Screen size

Bean size measured by sifting green coffee through plates with holes sized in 64ths of an inch. A screen 17 bean is held back by a hole 17/64 inch, about 6.75 mm, across.

Select

A Blue Mountain grade made up of beans re-run through sorting. One importer describes it as allowing up to 4% minor defects.

Shade trees

Trees grown among coffee plants to shelter them from the sun. Flamstead Estate's distributor says its coffee grows under banana, plantain and inga trees.

Silverskin

A thin skin that can stay on the bean after hulling. It is removed by polishing, and any that remains separates from the bean during roasting.

Single estate

Coffee that all comes from one named estate. The Gleaner reported in 2019 that JACRA had not yet set up a formal license for single-estate labeling.

Single origin

Coffee from one farm, region or country, valued for a flavor profile linked to its place. Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee is a single-origin coffee; compare blend.

Special Coffee Dealer's License

A JACRA license for businesses that buy roasted beans or ground coffee from a licensed coffee dealer and sell it under their own label. Holders may not trade green beans and need a Trademark User License.

Specialty coffee

A term for coffee of the highest grade. On the Specialty Coffee Association's 100-point scale, a coffee must score at least 80 points to be graded specialty.

Sweetness

A tasting attribute describing sugar-like flavors, often linked to fruity, chocolate and caramel aromas. It is one of the qualities judged in cupping.

Temple Hall

The property in St Andrew where Governor Sir Nicholas Lawes planted Jamaica's first coffee seedlings in 1728. See the history of Blue Mountain coffee.

Trademark User License

A JACRA license that allows exporters and importers to use the Jamaica Blue Mountain and High Mountain Supreme trademarks on their own labels. Holders may grant sub-licenses with JACRA's approval.

Triage

A lower grade of Blue Mountain coffee made up of smaller beans or beans with more defects than the top grades. Importers also list Triage A, Special Triage and Fines.

Typica

One of the oldest arabica varieties, carried from Ethiopia via Yemen and Java to the Americas. Tall and low-yielding, it performs very well at altitude. World Coffee Research notes that in Jamaica it is called Jamaica Blue Mountain.

UCC Ueshima Coffee Company

A Japanese coffee company that in 1953 became the first Japanese firm to buy coffee directly from Jamaica. It bought Craighton Estate in St Andrew in 1981.

Variety

A distinct type of plant within a coffee species, such as Typica or Gesha within arabica. Varieties differ in flavor, body, acidity, sweetness, yield and resistance to disease.

Washed process

Also called wet processing: cherries are pulped, the mucilage is fermented and washed off, and the parchment coffee is dried. It is the method Blue Mountain coffee works describe. See from cherry to cup.

Whole bean

Roasted coffee sold unground. Grinding just before brewing limits the exposure to air that makes ground coffee go stale faster.