What makes 90+ Geisha coffee beans distinct?

Ninety Plus, known as 90+, is an American green coffee company that built its reputation on its own Profile Processing system rather than the usual buy-after-cupping model. The name points to cupping scores above 90, and the company's Geisha estates in Ethiopia and Panama have produced beans such as Aricha, Beloya, Eleta and Juliette.

Profile Processing refers to the production approach founder Joseph Brodsky established at the company's start, shaping how lots are handled before they reach buyers. Available Eleta shows longan and spice notes, while Juliette offers grape and champagne notes. The article also covers estate terroir and complete brewing parameters for these geisha coffee lots.

In the coffee world, what comes to mind when you hear "90+"? Is it a cupping score, or that green coffee brand that always stirs up conversation? As a well-known American green coffee producer, Ninety Plus has redefined the production logic of specialty coffee with its original Profile Processing system. From making a name for itself with Aricha and Beloya in Ethiopia, to returning to Panama to establish the 90+ Geisha Estate, and then to the recent addition of the Barú Estate, 90+ has always been exploring the ultimate expression of flavor. The Eleta and Juliette Geishas currently sold by Front Street Coffee are prime examples of this system. This article will take you through the 90+ brand story, the estate terroir, tasting notes for the two Geishas, and complete brewing suggestions from Front Street.

When "90+" is mentioned, many coffee lovers' first reaction may be cupping scores. However, in the coffee industry, as soon as you bring up Ninety Plus, discussions instantly heat up. The topics people care about are often: what new products has 90+ released? What ingenious processing method did they use this time? Today, Front Street will talk about what exactly this brand is all about.

What is 90+?

90+ (Ninety Plus) is the name of an American green coffee company. In the coffee cupping system, a score above 90 represents exceptionally outstanding quality, and usually only the top beans can achieve it. Therefore, many people interpret the name of the 90+ company as: only producing coffee beans scoring above 90.

This interpretation is not unfounded; the beans produced by 90+ indeed perform impressively. For example, the Eleta currently sold by Front Street carries longan and spice notes; Juliette presents grape and champagne notes, and both come from 90+. When tasted alongside other coffees, they are easily recognizable, which is exactly the signature identity of the 90+ series. This uniqueness comes from the production system 90+ established itself: Profile Processing.

90+ Profile Processing

As mentioned earlier, 90+ is a green coffee company, or in plain terms, a green coffee trader. What sets it apart from other green coffee traders is precisely the Profile Processing established by founder Joseph Brodsky at the company's inception.

The usual approach of conventional green coffee traders is: first taste through cupping, then purchase decent-quality coffee beans for resale. What makes 90+ unique is that they are not satisfied with only doing the purchasing stage; instead, they are personally involved from selection and breeding to processing, with the goal of independently producing high-quality green coffee. After the company was founded in 2006, this plan was officially launched.

In the early days, 90+ had limited scale and insufficient funds to cover all stages of production, so they started with coffee processing, since they possessed the technology to control flavor expression. Specifically, they purchased freshly picked coffee cherries from nearby farmers, transported them back to the processing plant, and carried out meticulous post-harvest processing. Aricha and Beloya were born against this backdrop.

These two beans displayed extremely rich fruit flavors. Upon release, they caused a sensation, earning 90+ enormous reputation in its early stage and also bringing considerable income. With funds in hand, 90+ began selecting promising coffee farmers and gradually intervened in every stage of green coffee production. Ultimately, they could offer different suggestions to farmers and processing plants according to the flavors they wanted, bringing the beans ever closer to preset flavor targets.

But 90+ did not stop there. The beans produced are screened again until the batch that best meets the set standards is found before being sold. It can be said that the ability of 90+ beans to maintain a high standard is by no means luck or coincidence, but the result of dedicated adherence to quality, and it is also the core value they have always upheld.

90+'s Estates

In 2009, after achieving success in Ethiopia, 90+ returned to Panama with years of accumulated technology and experience and founded Ninety Plus Geisha Estate. Because during their time in Ethiopia they had not found a bean variety comparable to Geisha, they decided to use Geisha directly, pouring years of technology into it so that Geisha could surpass Geisha. Five years later, in 2014, this estate finally produced coffee beans, and the 90+ series was born. The Eleta Geisha and Juliette Geisha mentioned earlier by Front Street both come from this series.

Introduction to 90+ Estate Geisha Coffee Beans

On Front Street's bean list, there are two 90+ Geisha coffee beans with very beautiful names, namely Juliette and Eleta. Medium roasting perfectly blends their full juice-like body with rich floral aroma. Front Street can say that the performance of these two beans is completely worthy of the 90+ name.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Ninety Plus 90+ Geisha · Eleta Coffee Beans

Country: Panama

Grade: SHG

Region: Volcán

Estate: Ninety Plus

Variety: Geisha

Altitude: 1,400-1,800 meters

Processing Method: 90+ Special Processing

Flavor: Bergamot, Sweet Orange, Pineapple, Longan, Dried Fruit, Apple

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Ninety Plus 90+ Geisha · Juliette Coffee Beans

Country: Panama

Grade: SHG

Region: Volcán

Estate: Ninety Plus

Variety: Geisha

Altitude: 1,400-1,800 meters

Processing Method: 90+ Special Processing

Flavor: Muscat Grape, Champagne, Perfume Lemon, Full and Round Body, Long and Pleasant High Sweetness with a Lingering Finish

Brewing Suggestions for 90+ Geisha Coffee

Coffee Beans: 90+ Eleta Geisha, 90+ Juliette Geisha

Dripper: V60

Water Temperature: 92°C

Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: Fine sugar size (80% passing a No. 20 sieve)

These two beans both belong to 90+ Special Processing. After tasting, Front Street speculates that they should be anaerobic natural-type processing, so a slightly finer grind is recommended, which allows these fast-draining beans to achieve proper extraction.

First, fold the filter paper and fit it to the dripper, wet the filter paper with a small amount of water and make it sit more snugly, then discard the water in the server. Next, pour in the coffee grounds and tap lightly so the coffee bed is evenly distributed. For the first pour, gently add 30 grams of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds; for the second pour, add water until about 135 grams, circling outward evenly and steadily. Then wait for the coffee liquid to drop. When it has dropped halfway, pour the final stage of water until 225 grams. After all the coffee liquid has finished dripping, the total extraction time is generally about 2 minutes, and a cup of 90+ Geisha coffee is complete.

In 2019, after the Geisha Estate, 90+ acquired another plot of land and established a new 90+ estate. This plot is located near the Barú Volcano, so it was named Ninety Plus Barú Estates. With the nourishment of volcanic soil, it is believed that 90+ can produce even more delicious coffee beans. Front Street calculates that, established in 2019 and with 5 years of cultivation, we now only need to wait a little longer before we can drink the brand-new delicious coffee from 90+ Barú Estates. Let us look forward to it together.

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