Which 90+ Coffee Bean Brand is Best? Types of 90+ Coffee Beans - How Much is a Cup of Shu Mang Coffee?

ETHIOPIA, SIDAMO, Drima Zede

Natural Process Sidamo

90+ Coffee: Drima Zede

01 | Region Introduction

Sidamo grows in the southernmost Ethiopian highlands, at elevations between 4,600 and 7,200 feet. It is a famous specialty coffee region in southern Ethiopia, bordering Kenya, located southeast of Jimma and directly south of the capital. The coffee typically shows pronounced sweetness, which is why so many drinkers favor it. Annual production runs about 225,000 bags of 60kg. The beans are slightly smaller than Longberry, greenish with gray tones. On Sidamo's natural drying fields, coffee is laid on hemp nets stretched over wooden racks, with workers taking turns stirring it by hand under the sun. Natural process Sidamo is mostly exported as grade G4, while washed Sidamo — thanks to its more refined processing — mostly ships as G2.

Sidamo's flavors are extraordinarily diverse: different soil types, microclimates and countless native varieties define the region. The landscape spans towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys and plains. The geology is nutrient-rich, well-drained volcanic soil nearly two meters deep, dark brown to brown at the surface. Its greatest advantage is that fertility is maintained through organic cycling — fallen leaves and plant residues from the surrounding trees serve as fertilizer.

02 | Processing Method

High-Rack Natural Process

Drima Zede — "Best Approach" in the local dialect — is, according to the producer, a specialized series built on 90+ years of combined experience. Traditional natural processing struggles to achieve a pure flavor, but with 90+ technical support, Drima Zede uses only hand-selected, fully ripe cherries. During drying, constant careful stirring ensures uniformity. The result is an exceptionally transparent, pure flavor profile with dramatic shifts between hot and cold, and captivating aromas of fruit, flowers and oak barrel.

Traditional Ethiopian natural processing spread wild-picked cherries directly on the ground to dry — a method with two serious drawbacks:

1. After harvest, beans received no special screening, so uneven quality and maturity were mixed together in a crude process, producing unstable quality and frequent defects.

2. Farmers typically processed coffee on spare ground near their homes, where impurities and dirt contaminated the drying beans and off-flavors crept in.

The improved natural process answers both problems:

1. Only fully ripe, dark-red cherries are picked, and beans are screened for defects at the processing station before drying, so size and maturity start out uniform.

2. Drying happens on elevated wooden frames or in dedicated sheds, eliminating ground contamination. Workers watch moisture loss carefully, and every three to five days they hand-remove defective or moldy beans. By the time drying finishes and the cherries move to hulling, a batch of deep-red cherries has already been refined to a near-minimum defect grade.

03 | Green Bean Analysis

Sidamo green beans run slightly grayish, some large and some small. They combine gentle and bright acidity with appropriate body and a sweet-spicy character, making them a garden coffee of Ethiopia's southern highlands. Unlike typical African coffees, Sidamo shows clear fruit acidity, a smooth texture, and delicate floral and herbal aromatics.

90+ Drima Zede

Country: Ethiopia

Region: 90+ SNNP, Sidama

Altitude: 1,750–2,000 meters

Processing Method: Natural

Variety: Ethiopian Heirloom

Roast Level: Light Roast

Flavor: Floral aroma, nectarine, tropical fruits, blackberry, blueberry, plum, cream, cinnamon

Acidity: Medium-High

Ninety Plus Coffee, an American specialty coffee supplier, was founded in 2006.

"Ninety Plus" does not simply mean coffees scoring above 90 points. A great lot may exist one year and not the next, appearing on different estates with different characteristics. The name refers instead to a premium series built on 13 flavor profiles, sourced exclusively from Ninety Plus Coffee — all Ethiopian Heirloom old varieties, grown to maturity in their native ecological settings and processed to artistic standards for flavor optimization.

Processing is Ninety Plus's true specialty. Lots are separated by variety, microclimate and harvest timing, each tasted individually and assigned its own processing design — giving each profile a distinct identity the way a major brand designs its products. These are craft pieces: naturals that undergo extensive refinement before they are presented in their most beautiful form.

New-season products may drop the original L grading system (the former L7, L12, L39 and L139) in favor of divisions based on more significant taste differences, organized into four major series: NinetyPlus Ethiopia, NinetyPlus Panama, Ninety Levelup, and NinetyPlus Limited.

04 | Roasting Analysis

Beans this vibrantly flavored are not suited to medium-dark roasting. A light, slow roast is best — it highlights the rounded sweetness and rich floral and fruit aromas.

Roaster: Yangjia 600g Semi-Direct Flame

Fast stir mode, preheat to 200°C, damper at 3. After 30 seconds, set heat to 150°C, damper unchanged. Return to temperature point at 1'32", reading 103.7°C. Dehydration completes at 5'21", when the bean surface yellows and the grassy aroma fully disappears; at that point reduce heat to 100°C and open the damper to 4.

At 8 minutes 45 seconds, wrinkles and black spots appear on the bean surface and the toast aroma clearly turns to coffee aroma — the prelude to first crack. First crack begins at 9'00. Listen carefully, reduce heat to 80°C, and open the damper fully to 5 (adjust heat cautiously — too low and the crack sounds will fade). At 1'55" after first crack, discharge at 195°C.

05 | Brewing Analysis

Pour-Over Reference

Using the Key dripper, dose 16g of coffee and pour 32g of water to bloom for 30 seconds. Extract with 89–90°C water at a 1:15 ratio, medium-fine grind (Fuji 3.5). Second pour to 110ml; once the water drains, pour again slowly and evenly, keeping the water level low. Stop at 233ml. Extraction time 2:15 — the natural sweetness is rich, and everyone can fine-tune to taste.

Siphon Drima Zede

25g coffee to 310g water, medium grind (fine sugar), water temperature 90–91°C. Reduce the heat, add the coffee, and stir 3–5 times to wet the grounds fully. At 45 seconds, stir gently for 5 seconds. Turn off the heat and stir once more. Fresh citrus aroma, rich texture, prominent sweetness in the finish and an exceptional aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Ethiopia — coffee's birthplace — holds countless native varieties, and FrontStreet Coffee's Ethiopian lineup makes an excellent companion to this Drima Zede. The washed Yirgacheffe is the ideal entry point: clear jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity in a light, elegant, tea-like cup, like a crisp lemon tea. The Guodingding cooperative lot tells a deeper story — part of the Worka region in southeastern Yirgacheffe, it broke away from the Yirgacheffe Union (YCFCU) in 2012 with roughly 300 member farmers to become an independent single-origin cooperative, and pulping before drying gives its coffee a remarkably clear citrus, lemon and white-floral character.

On the natural side, the Yirgacheffe Red Cherry program removes damaged and moldy cherries, sun-dries for two weeks until moisture reaches 12%, then hulls and runs the beans through density, color and hand-sorting checks — yielding a pristine cup of peach, cocoa, honey and lemon. The Sidamo-grown Huakui, from the 200-hectare Hambella farm, dries on raised beds for 21 days with constant turning and defect sorting, resulting in a medium-light roast with light fermented wine notes, florals, citrus and mango over a thick, lingering body. For something rarer, the Hamasho 74158 — built on the JARC research center's 74-series disease-resistant variety — smells of perfume lemon, strawberry and star fruit, and the wild Kaffa Forest lot, grown at 1,400–2,100 meters, offers white florals, bright lemon acidity, sweet orange and bergamot with a green-tea finish.