What does the 90+ label on Sidamo coffee beans mean?

The 90+ mark refers to a top-tier series of 13 flavors from the American specialty trader Ninety Plus Coffee, meaning the green beans score above 90 points in cupping. Drima Zede, the lot from Ethiopia's Sidamo region, is named for the phrase meaning finest approach in the local dialect and is a customized 90+ product line.

Strict hand sorting and natural processing give the cup a transparent, pure profile with fruity and floral notes, though the old natural method makes a clean flavor hard to achieve. The article compares Drima Zede with Sidamo natural Huakui on appearance, cupping and pour-over flavor to show how the two Ethiopian naturals differ, and explains what does arabica coffee mean for the c.arabica species.

The Sidamo region of Ethiopia has always been famous for its outstanding natural-process coffees, and the 90+ series is one of its most notable top-tier product lines. The 90+ Drima Zede carried by Front Street Coffee comes from this region, and through strict hand sorting and meticulous natural processing, it presents a transparent, pure cup profile with alluring fruity and floral notes. This article will guide you through the meaning of 90+, the origin of the name Drima Zede, and the characteristics of its processing method, and will also provide a comprehensive comparison with the same region's Huakui coffee in terms of appearance, cupping, and pour-over flavor, helping you more clearly understand the differences and respective charms of these two Ethiopian natural-process beans.

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Front Street Coffee has listed many coffee beans from Ethiopia's Sidamo region and Yirgacheffe, such as Front Street Yirgacheffe Gudingding, Front Street Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry, Front Street Sidamo Natural Huakui, and so on, as well as a Front Street 90+ Drima Zede. This coffee bean comes from the Sidamo region, and the production process of this Front Street 90+ Drima Zede coffee bean is very strict.

You may wonder what 90+ means. 90+ refers to a top-tier coffee series of 13 flavors, from the American specialty coffee trader Ninety Plus Coffee. Its pursuit of ultimate flavor is astonishing, and because of this, just five or six years after its founding, it has already made coffee professionals around the world aware of this name. NinetyPlus, literally translated as 90+, means that this young coffee company sells green coffee beans that score above 90 in cupping. In plain terms, after the deduction system with more than a dozen strict requirements under cupping rules, still having 90 points left is no less difficult than scoring the top regional total in today's college entrance examination.

Drima Zede means "Best Approach" in the local dialect. According to materials provided by the original producer, this Front Street 90+ Drima Zede coffee bean is a specially customized product series developed based on 90+'s many years of experience. The ancient natural processing method makes it very difficult to obtain a pure flavor, but under 90+'s technical support, Drima Zede only hand-selects the most mature coffee cherries, and during the sun-drying process, it is even more painstakingly stirred constantly to ensure uniformity. The final result is that the coffee bean flavor has a very transparent and pure mouthfeel, with dramatic changes from hot to cold, and the aromas of fruit, flowers, and oak barrels are very alluring.

Like Ethiopian coffee, this Front Street 90+ Drima Zede coffee bean listed by Front Street Coffee belongs to local heirloom varieties. This is actually because there are simply too many varieties in Ethiopia; it is like a natural gene bank of Arabica. On the one hand, the many varieties make identification and classification difficult, and on the other hand, the Ethiopian government, out of consideration for protection, is unwilling to disclose information about these varieties, so they are collectively called Heirloom native species.

Front Street Coffee also has a Front Street Huakui coffee bean that comes from the Sidamo region as well, and both use natural processing. So what differences in flavor will these two Ethiopian coffee beans have? Front Street Coffee conducted an experiment on these two coffee beans.

Front Street Coffee first observed the appearance of these two coffee beans. The Front Street Huakui coffee beans are relatively shorter and rounder, with a slightly yellower color; while the Front Street 90+ Drima Zede beans are relatively slender, with a slightly bluish-green color and a hint of gray. Front Street Coffee uses a light, slow roasting method to bring out the rich floral and fruity characteristics of Ethiopian beans.

After roasting the beans, Front Street Coffee conducts cupping within 8 to 24 hours. Front Street Coffee uses a 200ml standard cupping bowl, with a grind size of 70%-75% passing through a No. 20 standard sieve, 11.3g of coffee, and a water temperature of 94 degrees Celsius. First grind and smell the dry fragrance, then pour water to fill the bowl and confirm the wet aroma. After 4 minutes, break the crust and skim, then evaluate the flavor. The two Front Street Ethiopian coffee beans taste relatively similar, but there are still slight differences. Compared with Front Street 90+ Drima Zede, Front Street Huakui is more refreshing, with a juice-like mouthfeel, and the citrus and acidity are also more obvious. Through cupping, Front Street Coffee believes that Front Street 90+ Drima Zede tends toward a smoother mouthfeel, with more prominent nectarine and berry flavors, and a more balanced sweet-acid profile, also showing more tropical fruit flavors as it cools.

Next comes the pour-over to compare the flavors of Front Street Huakui coffee and Front Street 90+ Drima Zede coffee. The brewing plan used by Front Street Coffee is: a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, with a water temperature of 90 degrees. When choosing a dripper, first consider the Hario v60 #01 dripper.

Front Street generally uses a three-stage pouring method when brewing coffee. This is a very simple pour-over method, and everyone can easily learn this pour-over technique at home to brew a simple and delicious cup of coffee. First, after everyone has prepared the coffee equipment needed, you can follow Front Street to brew coffee.

The first step is to bloom with 30 grams of water. When pouring, there is no need to use too strong a stream, otherwise the coffee grounds will be scattered and the blooming effect will not be achieved. When pouring in 30 grams of water, the time is exactly 10 seconds, then wait quietly for 20 seconds. When the total time reaches 30 seconds, you can proceed to the second step of brewing. Then, using a small stream, slowly pour in a circle from the center outward until 125 grams, at which point the total time is about one minute.

Then, after the coffee bed drops, you can pour water again. The third step is to pour water again. When the total water amount reaches 225 grams, the time is about two minutes, and at this point you can stop pouring. Next, wait until all the coffee liquid in the dripper has flowed into the server, and then you can remove the dripper. But it is not over yet. The last action is to shake the server holding the coffee liquid evenly so that the concentration of the coffee liquid is uniformly mixed, and then you can drink a delicious cup of coffee!

This Front Street Ethiopian Sidamo Natural Huakui coffee has an obvious citrus, juice-like mouthfeel on the palate, a slight fermented note, and becomes more refreshing as it cools, with sugarcane-like sweetness, passion fruit, and medium-high acidity; while the Front Street Ethiopian 90+ Drima Zede coffee has more obvious berry and stone fruit notes, nectarine, cream, smoothness, balanced sweet-acid, tropical fruit, medium-high acidity, medium sweetness, and a moderate finish.

As is well known, Ethiopian coffee has always been synonymous with specialty coffee and is one of the best coffees in the world. Ethiopia is also the birthplace of coffee. Sidamo and Yirgacheffe are recognized specialty coffee regions, and the coffee beans they produce are all very distinctive. Washed Yirgacheffe beans, such as Front Street Yirgacheffe Washed Gudingding, have a brighter, cleaner mouthfeel, fresh fruit, floral notes, and a bright, clear texture. Naturally processed Sidamo beans, such as Front Street Ethiopian Sidamo Natural Huakui, have a fuller body and very rich aroma, each with its own strengths.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add the private WeChat of Front Street Coffee: kaixinguoguo0925

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.