Pour-over Brewing Parameters for 90+ Guji Natural Specialty Coffee Beans

Pour-over Sidamo: 15g of coffee grounds, medium-fine grind (Fuji ghost-tooth grinder setting 3.5), a V60 dripper, and water at 91-93°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level drops halfway, then continue a slow pour to a total of 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, total extraction time 2:00.

Coffee Origin Information

Country: Sidamo

Altitude: 1750-2000m

Region: Sidamo

Roast Level: Light roast

Processing Method: Natural

Variety: Local heirloom varieties

Processing Station: NinetyPlus

Flavor Notes: Nectarine, tropical fruits, oak barrel aroma

About 90+ Coffee

90+ beans take a naming approach completely different from typical specialty coffees. They carry no region or estate names. Each coffee is named for its flavor profile instead; "Zhu Mang," for example, means "best approach" in the local dialect. Starting from a flavor concept, the company names the coffee first, then selects regions and partner farms. This shows that 90+ is a brand with a boutique business style.

Ethiopia contains a wide range of coffee cultivation methods, from extensive wild coffee forests and semi-developed lands to traditional small plots and modern plantations. About 50% of its coffee is grown above 1,500 meters. Ethiopian coffee falls into nine major regions based on four different production methods, including five specialty coffee areas, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Harrar, Limu, and Lekempti, plus four commercial coffee regions, Djimah, Illubabor, Tepi, and Bebeka. Each region uses either natural or washed processing, and the method shapes the flavor. Natural processing currently accounts for about 80%, while washed accounts for about 20%.

"Ninety Plus" does not mean every coffee scoring above 90 points. A good coffee can appear one year and be absent the next, and it can show up in different estates with different flavor characteristics. "Ninety Plus" refers to a series of 13 premium coffees, all from Ninety Plus Coffee, American specialty coffee creators. Every one is an Ethiopian heirloom variety, cultivated in ecological environments and processed to artistic standards with flavor optimization in mind. Processing is Ninety Plus's specialty: they separate coffees by variety, microclimate, and harvest timing, taste each one individually, and design a specific processing method for each flavor profile, achieving distinctive characteristics much like a major brand design. They aim to complete near-artistic craft products through meticulous research and effort. The natural products go through numerous refinements before reaching their most beautiful form.

Drima Zede & Zhu Mang Characteristics

The ancient natural processing method rarely achieves pure flavors, but Drima Zede, with 90+ technical support, uses only hand-selected, ripest coffee cherries. Its natural drying process involves frequent stirring and meticulous care to ensure uniformity. The result is a very transparent, pure taste with dramatic changes between hot and cold. The fruit, floral, and oak barrel aromas are incredibly charming.

As another Ethiopian natural coffee, Zhu Mang undergoes strict supervision and selection, which avoids the annoying earthy impurities and high defect rates common in natural beans and instead highlights the charming sweetness natural processing is praised for. Zhu Mang's captivating fruitiness inherits the enticing aroma of traditional Ethiopian natural processing, expressing full-bodied, long-lasting sweetness and perfectly mouth-watering fruit acidity without reservation. Zhu Mang is also easy to brew day to day. The beans themselves are rich in flavor, and whether you use a fresh drip filter or a strong siphon brew, both showcase their inherent character beautifully.

Flavor Profile

90+ Level Up series Zhu Mang flavor: nectarine and tropical fruits, with a clean, bright taste that is stunning from the first sip.

Product Information

Origin: Ethiopia
Roast Level: Light roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the nectarine and tropical fruit character of this natural 90+ Guji coffee speaks to you, FrontStreet Coffee's natural Ethiopian beans channel the same fruit-forward style. FrontStreet Natural Red Cherry is a full-red-cherry natural Yirgacheffe, dried on raised beds, with citrus acidity, juicy berry, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy, smooth body that keeps the classic Yirgacheffe character while adding tropical fruit from the natural process. For a cleaner, more translucent expression, FrontStreet Washed Yirgacheffe brings bright jasmine and citrus over a light, tea-like frame, and FrontStreet Gedeb Gudina Cooperative adds refined white florals to the mix. Together they cover the range from wild and fruit-driven to crisp and clean.