How Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Is Graded

Jamaica Blue Mountain green coffee is sorted by bean size into No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, with round single beans kept apart as Peaberry. Beans that miss those standards can go into a mixed grade called Select. Lots are checked for defects, moisture and cup quality, and JACRA inspects coffee before it is exported.

What are the grades of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee?

Processors and importers describe the same basic set of grades. Wallenford's processing notes list number ones, twos, threes and peaberries. The Jamaica Observer's account of the Mavis Bank Coffee Factory lists grades one, two and three, peaberry and select.

No. 1

The largest flat beans.

No. 2

Medium-sized flat beans.

No. 3

Smaller flat beans.

Peaberry

Beans from cherries that produced a single round seed instead of the usual pair of flat-sided seeds. They are sorted by shape rather than size.

Select

A mixed grade drawn from No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 beans, with a higher defect allowance. Beans that miss the standard for a main grade can end up here.

Wikipedia describes No. 1 beans as the largest and most desired, with the fewest defects, followed by No. 2 and No. 3. You may also see the word “triage” used by some sellers for a lower mixed grade. We could not confirm that term in official or importer specifications, so it is not listed here.

Grades and the protected names

Grades sit inside the protected name, not alongside it. Every grade of Jamaica Blue Mountain, from No. 1 to Select, comes from the same legally defined area. Of the four names defined in the 2018 regulations, only one mentions grades: Jamaica High Mountain Supreme Coffee means the premium grades of Jamaican coffee grown outside the Blue Mountain area. A High Mountain Supreme bag, whatever its grade, is not Blue Mountain coffee.

What do screen sizes mean?

Screen sizes describe the round holes in the sieves used to sort beans. Each number is a measure in 64ths of an inch. A bean held back by a screen 17 will not pass through holes 17/64 inch (about 6.75 mm) across. Higher numbers mean larger beans.

Grade specifications and defect limits

The 2018 regulations that govern Jamaican coffee do not include grade tables, and we did not find an official grade schedule published online. The figures below are as published by established importers. They agree closely but not exactly.

Moisture is checked as well. Blue Mountain Coffee Group, an importer, gives a maximum moisture content of 12.5% for export coffee. The Mavis Bank factory dries its parchment to between 10% and 12.5% before it rests.

What counts as a defect?

A defect is a bean, or part of one, that could spoil the look or taste of a lot. Jamaican processors and importers name checks for over-fermented, unripe and insect-damaged beans, and for beans of the wrong color, size or shape.

Sorting happens in stages. Screens and a gravity table separate beans by size and density. Machines then remove defective beans and beans of contrasting color. Hand-sorters make the final pass; Wallenford and the Mavis Bank factory both describe this step as manual work. Where grading sits in the wider process is shown in from cherry to cup.

Quality checks start before there is any green coffee to grade. An inspection form in the 2018 regulations records samples of cherry coffee for immature, borer-damaged, dry, floating, stale and green cherries. Poor fruit removed at that stage never reaches the grading line.

Grades are also part of the paper trail. Under the 2018 regulations, licensed dealers must record each purchase and sale, including the quantity, the registered grower and property the coffee came from, the date and the price, and, where applicable, its grade, type and quality. The records must be kept for at least seven years.

How are samples inspected and cupped?

Quality control happens at the processing works and again at JACRA. Processors sample their own coffee. At Mavis Bank, for example, sample beans are roasted in small batches and tested in the factory's laboratory.

Before export, green coffee from the Blue Mountain area is inspected and tested by JACRA. Perfect Daily Grind reports that barrels are checked for size, shape, moisture, color and cup quality. Blue Mountain Coffee Group says beans that fail on any of these points are downgraded to Select. In June 2024, JACRA opened a warehouse in Kingston with an on-site laboratory for cupping and quality testing of export-ready coffee. The building has more than 1,000 square meters of floor space, with temperature and humidity control and technology that traces each stage of a shipment. JACRA's coffee division has also achieved ISO quality-management certification, as the Coffee Industry Board did before it.

Cupping is the coffee trade's standard tasting method. Samples are roasted, ground, steeped in hot water and tasted side by side, so that faults and differences between lots show up clearly. Cup quality is one of the tests a lot must pass before it is certified for export. Cupping and other trade terms are defined in the glossary.

What does “export quality” mean?

For Jamaica Blue Mountain, “export quality” has a practical meaning. The lot has met the grade, defect and moisture standards and passed JACRA's inspection. Under the 2018 regulations, approved green coffee then stays in JACRA's physical custody until it leaves Jamaica, and JACRA exports it on the dealer's behalf. The dealer keeps ownership throughout.

This continues older practice. The former Coffee Industry Board certified coffee for export and acted as the sole exporter of green beans. Exported coffee is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. The mark itself is explained on the certification page.

What grade information will you see on a bag?

That depends on what you are buying.

• Green coffee. Importers list the grade, the estate or factory, and the packing. The main grades travel in wooden barrels of 15, 30 or 70 kg. One importer lists Select in 60 kg jute bags. A full listing gives more than the grade. JA Coffee's listing for a No. 1 lot from the Clydesdale estate, for example, gives the screens (17 and 18), moisture (10% to 12%), variety (Arabica Typica), process (fully washed), barrel sizes and a cupping score.
• Roasted coffee. Retail bags do not always state a grade. When one is given, it describes the size grade of the green coffee before roasting. The legal name and any blend percentage matter more. A product sold as Jamaica Blue Mountain Blend Coffee must contain at least 30% Blue Mountain coffee by weight.

If the grade matters to you, ask the seller which grade was roasted. The Blue Mountain coffee buying guide covers the other details worth checking, and coffee tasting notes explained helps with the flavor words on the bag.