90+ Guji Natural Sidamo Coffee Bean Flavor Characteristics, Origin, and Brewing Parameters

Understanding Ninety Plus Coffee: The Art of Premium Processing

"Ninety Plus" does not mean coffees that merely scored 90 or above in some review. Great coffee appears one year and may vanish the next, surfacing from different farms with entirely different characters. Ninety Plus is, in fact, a premium coffee series built on 13 distinct flavor profiles. All of them come from Ninety Plus Coffee, the American creator of the specialty line, and all are Ethiopian heirloom varieties grown in carefully managed ecological conditions and processed to an almost artistic standard of flavor optimization.

Processing is where Ninety Plus shines. Each coffee is separated by variety, microclimate, and picking window, then cupped individually; every flavor profile is deliberately engineered through a specific processing protocol to hit a precise taste target. The approach resembles the way luxury houses design their products—dedicated research and painstaking refinement until the result borders on art. These naturals undergo extensive iteration before they are deemed beautiful enough to release.

Drima Zede: Pure Natural Processing Excellence

Natural sun-drying is an ancient method that usually struggles to achieve a clean cup. But under Ninety Plus's technical guidance, Drima Zede uses only hand-selected, perfectly ripe cherries, dried with meticulous, constant stirring to ensure uniformity. The result is an exceptionally transparent, clean taste with dramatic hot-to-cold changes and captivating aromas of fruit, florals, and oak barrel.

Zhumaang: Exceptional Ethiopian Natural Coffee

Zhumaang, also an Ethiopian natural, is supervised and sorted so strictly that the harsh earthy defects and high defect rates common to naturals never appear. What remains is the enchanting sweetness that made natural processing famous. Its captivating fruit notes inherit the beguiling aromas of traditional Ethiopian naturals, expressing rich, full-bodied sweetness, a lingering aftertaste, and perfectly balanced, mouth-watering fruit acidity.

Zhumaang is also remarkably easy to brew at home. The beans themselves carry so much flavor that whether you choose a bright drip brew or a rich espresso, they show off their essential character beautifully.

The flavor profile of Zhumaang from the 90+ Levelup series: nectarine and tropical fruits over a clean, bright mouthfeel that stuns from the first sip.

Brewing Instructions

Pour-over Sidamo: 15g of coffee at a medium-fine grind (setting 3.5 on the Komachi Fuji grinder), V60 dripper, water at 91-93°C. Bloom with 30g of water for 27 seconds, pour to 105g and pause. When the level drops to half, pour slowly again to 225g, then cut the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15; total extraction time about 2:00.

Coffee Specifications

Country: Ethiopia (Sidamo)
Altitude: 1750-2000m
Region: Sidamo
Roast Degree: Light roast
Processing Method: Natural
Variety: Local indigenous (heirloom) varieties
Processing Station: Ninety Plus
Flavor Notes: Nectarine, tropical fruits, oak barrel aroma

The Ninety Plus Philosophy

Ninety Plus names its coffees in a completely different way from conventional specialty brands. Instead of regions or estates, each coffee is named for its flavor profile—Zhumaang, for example, means "best approach" in the local dialect. The process starts with a flavor concept, then the name, then the search for suitable regions and partner farms. It is a boutique operation in the fullest sense.

Ethiopian Coffee Cultivation

Ethiopia offers every style of coffee cultivation, from vast wild coffee forests and semi-developed land to traditional small plots and modern plantations. Roughly 50% of its coffee grows above 1,500 meters. The country divides into nine coffee regions across four production systems: five specialty regions—Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, Harar, Limu, and Lekempti—and four commercial ones—Djimmah, Illubabor, Tepi, and Bebeka. Each region uses natural or washed processing, and the method shapes the final flavor. Today naturals account for about 80% of output and washed coffee about 20%.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If a fruit-forward natural Sidamo like Zhumaang excites you, FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopia naturals are the natural next stop. The FrontStreet Red Cherry Project natural from Yirgacheffe follows the same obsessive logic: only fully ripe, defect-free cherries are picked, given a first sorting at the station, then sun-dried on raised beds and turned every 2-3 hours in the early days to prevent overheating and over-fermentation. After three to five weeks, the dried husk is stripped away and the beans get one final hand-sort. The cup keeps classic Yirgacheffe poise while adding natural-process opulence—citrus acidity, berry juice, honeyed sweetness, and cream-smooth body; the flavor description reads peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon.

For the fullest tropical expression, the FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui natural from Hambella in Guji, Sidamo, dries its cherries for 21 days on raised beds with constant turning and hand-removal of defective beans every three to five days. After a medium-light roast it opens with a faint fermented wine note, then florals, citrus, and mango, with pronounced sweetness, a cocoa undertone laced with spice, a thick body, and a long finish—an everyday-drinkable echo of what makes 90+ naturals so special.