What Defines the 90+ Geisha Coffee and Its Profile Processing?

Ninety Plus, known as 90+, is an American green bean company whose name refers to cupping scores above 90. After making its mark with Ethiopia's Aricha and Beloya, it returned to Panama to establish a geisha coffe estate. Its Profile Processing system lets the company shape green bean production rather than simply buying and reselling.

Two 90+ lots, Eleta and Juliette, show the house style: Eleta carries longan and spice notes, while Juliette presents grape and champagne flavors. Founder Joseph Brodsky built the Profile Processing approach at the company's start, and it is the reason these coffees stand out as a delicious coffee when tasted alongside others.

In the specialty coffee world, 90+ (Ninety Plus) is a name you can't avoid. It represents both exceptional quality scoring above 90 in cupping and the American green bean company known for its innovative processing methods. From stunning the industry with Ethiopia's Aricha and Beloya to returning to Panama to establish a Geisha estate, 90+ has redefined the possibilities of green bean production with its Profile Processing system. Front Street Coffee walks you through 90+'s development history and estate distribution, with a focus on introducing the flavor characteristics and brewing parameters of two Geisha coffees, Eleta and Juliette, giving you a comprehensive understanding of this coffee brand that keeps making headlines.

When "90+" comes up, many people's first reaction is the score. But in coffee circles, mentioning 90+ always sparks lively discussion. What everyone cares about is simply: what new beans has 90+ released? What ingenious processing method did they use this time? Today, Front Street Coffee will talk about what 90+ really is.

What is 90+?

90+ (Ninety Plus) is the name of an American green bean company. In the coffee cupping system, 90+ means scoring above 90, a score typically only awarded to exceptionally outstanding beans. As a result, many people interpret the 90+ company's meaning as: only producing coffee beans that score above 90.

This interpretation is not unfounded. 90+'s beans are indeed quite remarkable—for example, the Eleta currently sold by Front Street Coffee, with notes of longan and spice; and Juliette, which presents grape and champagne flavors. When these two beans are tasted alongside other coffees, people can often easily identify them as belonging to the 90+ series—that uniqueness is hard to replicate elsewhere. And this uniqueness is thanks to the production system that 90+ established itself: Profile Processing.

90+ Profile Processing

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

Conventional green bean traders typically cup beans to taste their flavors first, then select quality coffee beans to purchase—essentially buying beans that others have already grown and reselling them. What makes 90+ different is that they are not satisfied with only handling procurement; they are hands-on from seed selection to processing, determined to produce quality green coffee themselves. After the company was founded in 2006, this plan was set in motion.

At first, 90+ was limited in scale, with insufficient funds to cover all stages of green bean production, so they started with coffee processing—after all, they possessed the expertise to regulate flavor. Specifically, they purchased freshly picked coffee cherries from nearby farmers, transported them back to the processing plant for meticulous post-harvest processing. Aricha and Beloya were born under these circumstances.

These two beans were extremely rich in fruit flavors, and upon release they caused a sensation, earning 90+ tremendous reputation right from the start. Along with fame naturally came revenue. With funding in hand, 90+ began selecting promising farmers and gradually got involved in every stage of green bean production. Ultimately, they could offer different suggestions to farmers and processing plants based on their desired flavor direction, gradually steering the beans toward the intended flavor profile.

But 90+ doesn't stop there. The beans produced also undergo re-screening, and only the batches that best meet the established standards are sold. It's fair to say that 90+'s ability to maintain high-quality beans is not down to luck or private labeling, but the result of their dedicated efforts—and the core value the brand has always upheld.

90+'s Estates

In 2009, after achieving success in Ethiopia, 90+ returned to Panama with accumulated technology and experience and established "Ninety Plus Geisha Estate." Because during their time in Ethiopia they hadn't found any variety comparable to Geisha, they decided to use Geisha directly, pouring years of expertise into it to let Geisha 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 Coffee both come from this series.

Introduction to 90+ Estate's Geisha Coffee Beans

Front Street Coffee's bean list features two beautifully named 90+ Geisha coffees: Juliette and Eleta. The medium roast allows their full-bodied juiciness and rich floral aromas to shine through completely, and Front Street Coffee dares say these two beans live up to the 90+ name entirely.

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 Finish

Brewing Recommendations 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 (80% passing through a No. 20 sieve)

Both beans belong to 90+'s special processing line, and after tasting, Front Street Coffee suspects they fall under anaerobic natural processing, so a slightly finer grind is recommended—this allows these fast-draining beans to achieve proper extraction.

Fold the filter paper and fit it into the dripper, wet it with a small amount of water to make it adhere better, and discard the water in the server. Then add the coffee grounds and gently tap to distribute the bed evenly. For the first pour, gently add 30g of water for blooming, with a bloom time of 30 seconds; for the second pour, add water to about 135g, circling outward evenly and steadily. Wait for the coffee liquid to drop, and when it has dropped halfway, add the final pour up to 225g. Once all the coffee has finished dripping, with a total extraction time of about 2 minutes, a cup of 90+ Geisha coffee is ready.

In 2019, after the Geisha Estate, 90+ acquired another plot of land and established a new 90+ estate. This plot is located near Barú Volcano, so it was named "Ninety Plus Barú Estates." With the nourishment of volcanic soil, we believe 90+ can produce even more delicious coffee beans. Front Street Coffee did the math: established in 2019, five years of cultivation, and now we just need to wait a little longer before we can taste the brand-new flavors from 90+ Barú Estates. Let's wait and see.

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