How does Ninety Plus Profile Processing change Geisha coffee?

Ninety Plus, an American green bean company, built its own Profile Processing system to reshape what Geisha beans can taste like. The approach started in Ethiopia and later expanded to Panama, where the company established a Geisha estate. Two lots sold by Front Street, Eleta and Juliette, come from this system.

Eleta carries notes of longan and spice, while Juliette shows grape and champagne character. Both are distinctive enough that tasters can often pick them out of a lineup as part of the 90+ series. The name 90+ refers to cupping scores of 90 or above, though the company is above all a green bean merchant whose processing defines its identity.

In the specialty coffee world, mentioning "90+" always sparks a wave of lively discussion—what new beans have they released? What unconventional processing method have they used this time? This American green bean company called Ninety Plus, with its original Profile Processing system, started in Ethiopia and went all the way to Panama to establish the 90+ Geisha Estate, redefining the possibilities of Geisha through technology and dedication. The two Geisha coffees currently on sale at Front Street Coffee, Eleta and Juliette, come from this very system. This article will provide a complete overview of 90+'s development history, estate stories, bean information, and brewing suggestions, taking you deeper into this brand that makes Geisha surpass Geisha.

When people mention "90+," many people's first reaction might be a score. But in the coffee world, as soon as 90+ comes up, it almost immediately sparks a lively discussion. The topics people care about often center on: which new bean has 90+ recently released? What ingenious processing method have they used this time? Today, Front Street will take everyone through a closer look at what kind of existence 90+ really is.

What is 90+?

90+ (Ninety Plus) is the name of an American green bean company. In the context of coffee cupping, it represents a score of 90 or above, and usually only exceptionally outstanding coffee beans can achieve such a high score. For this reason, many people interpret the company name 90+ as meaning: only coffee beans scoring above 90 are produced.

This interpretation certainly makes sense. The beans produced by 90+ are indeed striking. For example, Eleta, currently sold by Front Street, carries notes of longan and spice; and Juliette presents grape and champagne notes. They all come from 90+. When these beans are tasted alongside other coffees, people can often quickly identify them as part of the 90+ series, because that unique character is very difficult to replicate elsewhere. And the root of this uniqueness lies in 90+'s self-established production system—Profile Processing.

90+ Profile Processing

As mentioned earlier, 90+ is a green bean company, in plain terms a green bean merchant. What allows it to stand out among so many green bean merchants is precisely the Profile Processing established by founder Joseph Brodsky at the company's inception.

Ordinary green bean merchants usually first confirm flavor through cupping when purchasing, and then buy coffee beans that perform excellently. In essence, they buy high-quality green beans grown by others and resell them. What makes 90+ different is that they are not satisfied with only taking part in purchasing. Instead, they hope to be personally involved from selection and breeding to processing, producing high-quality green beans themselves. So after the company was founded in 2006, this plan was officially launched.

At first, 90+ was limited in scale, and its funds were insufficient to cover every stage of green bean production, so they decided to start from the processing end—after all, the technology for controlling flavor was in their own hands. Specifically, they purchased freshly picked coffee cherries from nearby farmers, transported them back to the processing plant, and carried out refined post-harvest processing. Aricha and Beloya were born against this background.

These two beans displayed extremely rich fruit flavors and caused a huge sensation as soon as they were released, earning 90+ a resounding reputation in its first battle. Fame brought income, and income in turn gave them the ability to get involved in more stages of green bean production. So 90+ took the opportunity to select promising farmers and gradually intervene in every step of the green bean process. Ultimately, they were able to offer varying degrees of suggestions to farmers and processing plants according to the flavor direction they wanted, enabling all parties to cooperate better and bringing the beans step by step closer to the intended flavor.

But 90+ did not stop there. For the beans produced, they would screen again until they found the batch that best matched the set goal, and only then would they officially release it for sale. Therefore, it can be said that the ability of 90+ beans to consistently maintain a high standard is by no means luck or coincidence, but the result of the quality they carefully uphold, and also the core value the brand has always adhered to.

90+'s Estate

In 2009, after achieving success in Ethiopia, 90+ returned to Panama with years of accumulated technology and experience and established Ninety Plus Geisha Estate. Previously in Ethiopia, they had never found a bean variety comparable to Geisha, so they decided to use Geisha directly and pour years of technology into it, allowing Geisha to surpass Geisha. Five years later, in 2014, this estate was finally able to produce coffee beans, and the 90+ series was born with it. The Eleta Geisha and Juliette Geisha mentioned earlier by Front Street both come from this 90+ series.

Introduction to 90+ Estate Geisha Coffee Beans

On Front Street's bean list, there are two 90+ Geisha coffees with very beautiful names, namely Juliette and Eleta. Medium roasting allows their full juicy body and rich floral aroma to be perfectly interpreted. Front Street dares to say that the performance of these two coffees is in no way unworthy of the 90+ name.

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

Country: Panama

Grade: SHG

Region: Volcan

Estate: Ninety Plus

Variety: Geisha

Altitude: 1400-1800 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: Volcan

Estate: Ninety Plus

Variety: Geisha

Altitude: 1400-1800 meters

Processing Method: 90+ Special Processing

Flavor: Muscat grape, champagne, perfume lemon, full and rounded BODY, long and pleasant high-sweetness finish

Brewing Suggestions for 90+ Geisha Coffee

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

Dripper: V60

Water Temperature: 92℃

Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: fine granulated sugar size (80% passing through a No. 20 sieve)

Since these two beans also belong to 90+ special processing, after tasting them, Front Street suspects that they should be anaerobic natural or a similar type of processing, so the grind we use is best kept somewhat finer. Only in this way can a suitable extraction be achieved for beans whose water drains relatively quickly!

Fold the filter paper and fit it snugly into the dripper. Wet the filter paper with a small amount of water while also making it adhere better, then pour out the water in the server. Next, add the coffee grounds and tap lightly so the coffee bed is evenly distributed. For the first pour, gently pour 30 grams of water for blooming, with a blooming time of 30 seconds. For the second pour, pour to about 135 grams of water, circling outward evenly and steadily. Then wait for the coffee liquid to drop. When it has dropped by half, pour the final stage of water up to 225 grams. After all the coffee has dripped through, the total extraction time is generally about 2 minutes, and a cup of 90+ Geisha coffee is ready.

In 2019, after the Geisha Estate, 90+ acquired another piece of land and established another 90+ estate. This plot is located near Baru Volcano, so it was named Ninety Plus Barú Estates. With the nourishment of volcanic soil, it is believed that 90+ will bring even more delicious coffee beans. According to Front Street's rough calculation, established in 2019 and planted for 5 years, now one only needs to wait patiently a little longer to taste the brand-new flavors from 90+ Barú Estates, so let us look forward to it together.

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