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Blue Mountain coffee beans are widely thought to be the pinnacle of coffee. With unmatched taste, richness, and completeness, most who try the blue mountain coffee agree it is one of the best blends in the world. As such, Blue Mountain coffee makes a fantastic gift to any coffee lover, and it is ideal for special occasions.

Unfortunately, Blue Mountain coffee is not the easiest to get. Because of the limited area that the beans grow (the Blue Mountains in Jamaica) the quantities produced are limited. The coffee has also undergone some controversy through its life, starting with the Japanese investing heavily in the industry, causing what many believed to be an overproduction of the coffee, and a subsequent drop in it's quality. The bean was traditionally wet-processed, which took more time than the short-cut versions implemented at a growing number of mills. Blue Mountain coffee became more readily accessible, but the quality dropped.

The Blue Mountain coffee bean has since been making a come back to its previous excellence (and in truth, it was never really a bad roast) through the efforts of the Jamaican Coffee Board. They began allowing individual coffee farmers to produce their own coffee (rather than sending it through a central processing farm) which has resulted in some distinct Blue Mountain area blends. While all the beans are Blue Mountain, there can be subtle differences depending on which estate you buy from.

Which unfortunately brings up another tricky item when buying Blue Mountain beans - many places will do something like put a small percentage of Blue Mountain beans in with another bean, and call it Blue Mountain. They can then sell this much cheaper than real Blue Mountain costs, which fools people into buying inferior coffee. The best way to protect yourself? Make sure that the coffee you buy has the Jamaican Coffee Board seal on it. You can also tell by the price - if it seems like its cheap, it probably isn't pure Blue Mountain. Just remember that you get what you pay for.