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

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ETHIOPIA, SIDAMO, Drima Zede

Natural Process Sidamo

90+ Coffee Bean Drima Zede

01 | Region Introduction

Sidamo grows in the southernmost Ethiopian highlands at elevations between 4,600-7,200 feet (Sidamo province). It is a famous specialty coffee region in southern Ethiopia, bordering Kenya, located southeast of Jimma and directly south of the capital. It typically has pronounced sweetness and is preferred by many people. Its annual production is about 225,000 bags/60kg. The beans are slightly smaller than Longberry, greenish with gray tones. In Sidamo's natural drying fields, coffee is placed on hemp nets on wooden racks, where workers take turns manually stirring the coffee under sunlight. Natural process Sidamo is mostly exported as G4, while washed Sidamo, due to its more refined processing, is mostly exported as G2 grade.

Sidamo's coffee flavor is extremely diverse. Different soil types, microclimates, and countless native coffee varieties characterize the region. Within its territory are towering mountains, highlands, plateaus, valleys, and plains - diverse topography. The area's geology consists of nutrient-rich, well-drained volcanic soil with depths of nearly two meters, with surface soil appearing dark brown or brown. The area's greatest advantage is that soil fertility is maintained through organic matter cycling, using fallen leaves from surrounding trees or plant residues as fertilizer.

02 | Processing Method

High Rack Natural Process

Drima Zede (meaning "Best Approach" in the local dialect) is, according to information provided by the producer, a specialized product series developed from 90+ years of experience. Traditional natural processing methods struggle to achieve pure flavor, but Drima Zede, with 90+ technical support, uses only hand-selected fully ripe coffee cherries. During the natural drying process, careful constant stirring ensures uniformity. The final result is an exceptionally transparent and pure flavor profile with dramatic changes between hot and cold, with captivating aromas of fruit, flowers, and oak barrels.

Traditional Ethiopian natural processing involved directly spreading wild-picked coffee fruits on the ground for sun exposure. This method had two disadvantages:

1. After harvesting, beans were not specially screened or processed, mixing uneven quality and maturity levels together in a relatively crude process, resulting in unstable bean quality and frequent defective beans.

2. Coffee farmers typically found empty spaces near their homes for processing, so the ground often contained many impurities or dirt, and coffee easily absorbed off-flavors.

The improved natural process addresses these two traditional disadvantages:

1. Only fully ripe dark red coffee cherries are picked during harvest. Before sun exposure, beans are first screened for defects at the processing station, making bean size and maturity appear more uniform.

2. Next, elevated wooden frames or entire sheds are used for sun drying, avoiding the risk of beans absorbing off-flavors from the ground. During the exposure process, careful attention is given to ensure even dehydration of the coffee beans; every three to five days, coffee workers manually screen out defective or moldy beans. Therefore, by the time sun exposure is complete and beans enter the depulping stage, a batch of beautifully deep red coffee cherries is already of minimal defect grade.

03 | Green Bean Analysis

Sidamo coffee green beans are slightly grayish, some areas large while others small. They possess both gentle and bright acidity, appropriate body intensity, sweet and spicy character, making them one of the garden coffees of Ethiopia's southern highlands. Unlike typical African coffees, Sidamo has clear fruit acidity, smooth texture, and delicate floral and herbal aromas.

90+ Drima Zede

Country: Ethiopia

Region: 90+ SNNP, Sidama

Altitude: 1750-2000 meters

Processing Method: Natural Process

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 refer to all coffees scoring above 90 points. Good coffee may be available one year and not the next. Sometimes it appears in different estates with various flavor characteristics. "Ninety Plus" refers to a premium coffee series of 13 flavor profiles. These coffees come exclusively from American specialty coffee creator - Ninety Plus Coffee. They are all Ethiopian Heirloom old varieties, cultivated to maturity in ecological environments, and processed under artistic standards for flavor optimization.

Processing is Ninety Plus's specialty. They separate these coffees by variety, microclimate, and harvest timing, tasting each individually and designing specific processing methods for each flavor profile, achieving distinct flavor characteristics like major brand designs. They devote meticulous research and heart to create artistic craft pieces. Natural products undergo extensive refinement and improvement before presenting their most beautiful form to everyone.

New season products may cancel the original L grading system (original L7\L12\L39\L139), with product and product line divisions based on more significant taste differences. Product lines are divided into four major series: NinetyPlus Ethiopia, NinetyPlus Panama, Ninety Levelup, NinetyPlus Limited.

04 | Roasting Analysis

Such vibrantly flavored beans are certainly not suitable for medium-dark roasting. Therefore, this coffee is best prepared using a light slow roast method to highlight its rounded, sweet characteristics with rich floral and fruit aromas.

Roaster: Yangjia 600g Semi-direct Flame

Using fast stir mode, preheat to 200°C, air damper at 3. After 30 seconds, adjust heat to 150°C, damper unchanged. Return to temperature point at 1'32", 103.7°C. Dehydration time at 5'21", when bean surface turns yellow and grassy aroma completely disappears. Adjust heat once at 150°C when dehydration is complete, reduce heat to 100°C, damper to 4.

At 8 minutes 45 seconds, ugly wrinkles and black spots appear on bean surface, toast aroma clearly transitions to coffee aroma - this can be defined as the prelude to first crack. First crack begins at 9'00. At this point, listen carefully for the crack sound, reduce heat to 80°C, fully open damper to 5 (heat adjustment must be very careful, not so low that crack sounds disappear). At 1'55" after first crack, discharge at 195°C.

05 | Brewing Analysis

Pour Over Reference

Using Key's dripper, 16g of coffee to 32g of water, bloom for 30 seconds. Extract with 89-90°C water at 1:15 ratio, medium-fine grind (Fuji 3.5). Second pour to 110ml, wait for water to drop then slowly pour again with uniform speed, water level should not be too high. Pour to 233ml and stop. Extraction time 2:15 seconds - rich natural sweetness. Everyone can fine-tune according to their taste preferences.

Siphon Drima Zede

25g coffee, 310g water, medium grind, fine sugar. Water temperature 90-91°C. Reduce heat, add coffee and stir 3-5 times for full wetting. At 45 seconds, stir gently for 5 seconds. Turn off heat, stir once more. Fresh citrus aroma, rich texture, prominent sweetness in the finish, exceptional aftertaste.

90+ Coffee Bean Brand Recommendation

FrontStreet Coffee's roasted 90+ coffee bean Drima Zede offers full assurance in both brand and quality. More importantly, it provides exceptional value - a half-pound (227g) package costs only about 90 yuan. Calculating at 15g per cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, costing only about 6 yuan per cup. Compared to café prices often exceeding 100 yuan per cup, this is truly a conscientious recommendation.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473