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Puerto Rico Coffee vs Jamaica Blue Mountain: The Caribbean Premium Comparison

Forested ridges of the Cordillera Central in Gato, Orocovis, Puerto Rico, with pine on the near ridge and scattered houses beyond, under heavy cloud

Cordillera Central foliage in Gato, Orocovis, Puerto Rico. Photo: Ligocsicnarf89 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Jamaica Blue Mountain is the coffee that Puerto Rican coffee is most often compared with. This article compares how each is defined, regulated and produced.

What Blue Mountain Is

Houses on a steep forested ridge in the village of Section, Blue Mountains, Portland Parish, Jamaica, under low cloud

Fog hangs over the village of Section in the Blue Mountains of Portland Parish, Jamaica. Photo: Matthew.kowal / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Jamaica Blue Mountain is a certification mark, registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, in the European Union and in the United Kingdom. Only coffee grown at elevations between 3,000 and 5,500 feet in the parishes of Saint Andrew, Saint Thomas, Portland and Saint Mary can be called Jamaica Blue Mountain. In 2010 the World Intellectual Property Organization described Jamaica's Coffee Industry Board as the only certifying agency for all Jamaican coffee. Under the JACRA Act of 2017, the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) took over the regulatory functions of the Coffee Industry Board, together with those of the cocoa and coconut boards. JACRA sets the quality standards for Jamaican coffee.

Coffee came to Jamaica in 1728, when Sir Nicholas Lawes planted the island's first seven coffee trees on his Townwell estate.

Watch: Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee - An Insightful Documentary — My-Island-Jamaica.com.

Puerto Rico's Coffee Laws

A steep peak with grey rock outcrops and forest in Jayuya, Puerto Rico, with banana plants in the foreground

Mountain in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Photo: South Atlantic Division (SAD) USACE / Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

A 2015 law, Ley 232-2015, created a denomination of origin for Puerto Rican coffee. That law was repealed by Ley 78 of 27 July 2019, which created the Oficina de Cafés de Puerto Rico. Ley 78-2019 gives the Oficina the task of certifying the quality of specialty, premium and 100 per cent Puerto Rican coffees, of establishing a quality seal, and of promoting the registry of certified marks for Puerto Rican specialty coffee. The filing of those marks and the registration certificate are handled by the Departamento de Estado. Brand names are not growing designations: the history of two Puerto Rican brands is told in Yauco Selecto: The Premium Puerto Rico Coffee Brand and Alto Grande: A Lares Coffee Brand and Its Heritage Claims.

Scale

JACRA estimated Jamaica Blue Mountain production at 257,475 boxes for the crop year, as of April 2023, according to the Jamaica Gleaner. Japan is the largest buyer: the Gleaner reported in June 2023 that Japan consumes around 70 per cent of Jamaica's coffee crop. Puerto Rico's 2022 Census of Agriculture recorded 2,983 coffee farms on 18,961 cuerdas, with 53,940 hundredweight harvested. In the 2018 census the figures were 2,292 farms, 13,283 cuerdas and 21,490 hundredweight. Jamaica's figure is in boxes and Puerto Rico's in hundredweight, so the two cannot be compared directly.

A cuerda is not an acre. One cuerda is 0.9712 acre.

Puerto Rican Coffee History

A long corrugated-iron coffee mill with a timber verandah, a smaller shed and a dirt yard under a spreading tree, at Hacienda Cafetalera Santa Clara, Yauco

View of the coffee mill from the south-west, Hacienda Cafetalera Santa Clara, Yauco, Puerto Rico (HAER PR-27-A-3). Photo: Historic American Engineering Record / Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

For the history of Puerto Rican coffee, see The Golden Age of Puerto Rican Coffee (1800-1898). For the documented links between Puerto Rican coffee and the Holy See, see Coffee of Kings and Popes: Puerto Rico's Vatican Connection.

Price

Retail prices for both coffees change and vary by seller and grade, so this encyclopedia does not quote them.

Where the Sponsor Belongs

This encyclopedia is free to read because PuertoRicoCoffeeShop.com pays for it, and every article carries its sponsor block. That block is clearly marked and it is where the shop belongs.

Key Facts

  • Jamaica Blue Mountain is a certification mark, registered in the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.
  • Only coffee grown at 3,000 to 5,500 feet in Saint Andrew, Saint Thomas, Portland and Saint Mary qualifies.
  • Regulator: JACRA, created under the JACRA Act 2017, which took over the Coffee Industry Board's functions.
  • Coffee came to Jamaica in 1728.
  • Japan is the largest buyer of Jamaican coffee.
  • Puerto Rico, 2022 Census: 2,983 coffee farms, 18,961 cuerdas, 53,940 hundredweight harvested.
  • Puerto Rico's 2015 denomination-of-origin law was repealed in 2019; Ley 78-2019 provides instead for certification by the Oficina de Cafés.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better? This encyclopedia does not rank origins.

What makes Blue Mountain legally different? It is a registered certification mark. Only coffee from the defined parishes and elevations may carry the name.

Does Puerto Rico have a denomination of origin for coffee? Ley 78-2019 repealed the 2015 denomination-of-origin law. It gives the Oficina de Cafés the task of certifying specialty, premium and 100 per cent Puerto Rican coffee.

Who buys most Blue Mountain coffee? Japan. The Jamaica Gleaner reported in 2023 that Japan consumes around 70 per cent of Jamaica's coffee crop.

Where should I buy either coffee? This encyclopedia does not make purchasing recommendations.

Sources

Claims this encyclopedia could not source

  • That any certified mark for Puerto Rican specialty coffee under Ley 78-2019 has been registered and is in use.
  • That coffee reached Jamaica in 1730, from Martinique. The 2014 source gives 1728.
  • Blue Mountain grade rules: Grade 1 at screen 17 and above, at most 2 per cent defects, moisture of at most 12.5 per cent, and export in wooden barrels.
  • That the Coffee Industry Regulation Act still governs the Blue Mountain name.
  • That both islands' coffee grows on volcanic soils rich in the minerals coffee needs.
  • A precise figure for Japan's share of Blue Mountain exports.
  • That Puerto Rican coffee is expensive because of the federal minimum wage.
  • That the Department of Agriculture puts production at 32,000 to 34,000 quintales.
  • Historical production of 8 to 10 million pounds, falling to under 2 million.
  • Retail prices of $50 to $100 a pound for Blue Mountain and $25 to $45 for Puerto Rican coffee.
  • That each Blue Mountain tree yields about one pound of coffee a year.
  • Flavour profiles attributed to either origin.
  • That most drinkers cannot tell the two apart in a blind cupping.
  • That a named Puerto Rican coffee scored well in Specialty Coffee Association cuppings.

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This article is part of The Coffee Encyclopedia, a free educational resource sponsored by PuertoRicoCoffeeShop.com. Contact: Encyclopedia@PuertoRicoCoffeeShop.com

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