Finally tried Blue Mountain and...

[Terje]

... of course it's excellent coffee. At about $100 per kilo what else can you expect? Anything but superb would be robbery. It is very well balanced and if I compare it to Kona, it's similar but has more bite. This is a really good coffee.

But... it's not worth the price. I don't think I'll buy it again. It's not six times as good as Yirgacheffe. I'm not even sure that I like it more than a good Yirg. It's not twice as good as Kona. And it's not five times as good as the beans I got from Cuba, which are pretty much the same.

Fun to have tried it though and a cool thing to have a little at home. For those special occasions.

[zix]

Thanks for the information, Terje. I have never tried it, because it is six times more expensive than Yirgacheffe... How do you make your coffee nowadays? Drip? Presso? Turkish style? Espresso? Vac pot?

[Terje]

Depends on what coffee it is. Yirg and the other two african beans I have, Kenya AA and some beans from Tanzania are all great for the press. They're fine other ways too but really at their best in a press I think.

The beans from Guatemala, Cuba and Costa Rica I make in my moka pot. Same goes for that Old Brown Java stuff which I think is the best for a cappucino (made moka pot style). Although I did try the cuban beans in the press and it was really good too so I don't know.

Kona and Blue Mountain are made in the smallest of my moka pots cause it's the best. The bigger those pots get the less effective they seem to be.

I use the cheap brazilian beans for turkish coffee these days, mixed with some cardamom. It would be a waste to do that to a more expensive beans I think but it sure works fine with the brazilian beans and in fact if you read the packets you can get in the store with "turkish coffee" it often says it's from Brazil.

I use the brazilian beans for everyday coffee as well. It feels better to stand there on a Monday morning preparing a great cup of coffee using something that's not expensive. The brazilian beans are also great for cappucino.

So, I do it in many different ways. The only thing that has stayed the same ever since I started roasting the beans myself is that I roast them in a frying pan. Fresh beans for every cup each time.

[Steve]

I'm with you Terje, fo me if it was an everyday price it would be good enough to be an everyday coffee, but it isnt so it aint

Steve

[Gouezeri]

I'm with you Terje, fo me if it was an everyday price it would be good enough to be an everyday coffee, but it isnt so it aint

Steve

So what would be an everday for you steve? (and don't say tea!)

[Steve]

Kenyan's, Brazil Cach, Nicaraguan 22nd setembre, Blue mountain, Kopi Luwak

No seriuosly most days I'll have either one of the keyans or Cacoeria or the Nic.

Steve

[kingseven]

Blue Mountain seems to be a classic case of resting on one's laurels. Once, no doubt, a great coffee and some way ahead of the competition. At the moment its price seems more dependent on whether they had a good harvest or not, rather than its taste.

Does nothing for me, it so boring and obvious to boot. So many other exciting and new coffees.

I'm so excited as it is now time to start building my blend! Woohoo!

[Steve]

I agree Jim but it is still not bad coffee. I bet you don’t like it because it's not really an espresso bean

In the vac pot I think its a really inoffensive coffee, that’s well balanced and very enjoyable, but not at that price

Steve

[kingseven]

Inoffensive to be is pretty much the same as what I said = boring.

I'm not saying it is by any means bad. I am just saying that there are a great many coffees that vastly surpass it in taste.

And its rubbish in espresso.

[Terje]

I'm with you Terje, fo me if it was an everyday price it would be good enough to be an everyday coffee, but it isnt so it aint

Steve

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Nice to have tried it, fun to have at home so I can take it out on special occasions (just the fun in telling people that the cup they're drinking is actually worth serious money) but not something I'd drink on an everyday basis, for more reasons than the price.

A coffee drinking friend of mine asked me yesterday if I'd rank it in the top three and I wouldn't. I do put Yirgacheffe, Kenyan AA and those cuban beans above it, regardless of the price. It's not even in 4th or 5th place where I'd put more useful coffees like the guatemalan beans I have and those indonesian "Java" ones.

So, it's probably a strong 6th... even if they all costed the same. The only bean it is relevant to compare it to is Kona and it is definitely better, more interesting, has more bite, but it's not twice as good, which the price would indicate.

[BazBean]

At the moment its price seems more dependent on whether they had a good harvest or not

Generic question really relevent to all beans but would i be right in thinking harvests of Blue can differ in quality because of fine balance of all the growing conditions partcular for this region

[Bertie_Doe]

Bazbean, knocked back his 10th 'nam robusta of the day and said:

harvests of Blue can differ in quality because of fine balance of all the growing conditions partcular for this region

Scarborough?
Q.

[Steve]

In Jamaica the farms are a bit of a cartel and run very well, so most of the quality stuff that comes out of there is of a standard quality. The stuff they sell there is not good at all (I had a friend bring me some back one).

I think the whole price thing is about the amount being harvested that anything else.

Steve