What Are 90+ Coffee Beans? Are 90+ Coffee Beans Always Expensive? How Much Do 90+ Coffee Beans Typically Cost?

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What Exactly Are 90+ Coffee Beans?

Just as Dove can only be called candy with chocolate flavor, and instant coffee can only be called a soft drink with coffee flavor, 90+ coffee beans are the symbol of the highest honor in the coffee world.

"90+" does not refer to all coffees that score above 90 points in evaluations. It refers to a premium coffee series with 13 flavor profiles. Sometimes they come from different estates and possess various flavor characteristics. During processing, baristas separate these coffees by variety, climate, and harvest timing, tasting each one individually. They are like works of art approaching perfection, with baristas pouring their heart and soul into achieving the best flavor profile, presenting them in their most perfect form.

The pursuit of extreme flavor by "90+" is truly admirable, and their sustainable development model and environmentally friendly practices serve as learning goals for many coffee producers. Since the company's founding in 2006, this young company has made itself known to coffee professionals worldwide in just a few years. The coffee series first unveiled in 2007 was immediately regarded as a precious selection by various experts in the coffee industry.

Exceptional Quality

Joseph Brodsky, the founder of Ninety Plus, discovered early on that the world's high-quality green coffee beans originate from Ethiopia, and that its multiple varieties with different flavors are no less impressive than 10,000 grape varieties brewing 1 million different fine wines. All of Ninety Plus's green beans come from original Ethiopian varieties, including the Geisha grown in Panamanian estates, which was transplanted from Ethiopian Heirloom varieties. The processing process is Ninety Plus's specialty - they separate these coffees by variety, microclimate, and harvest timing, tasting each one individually, designing specific processing methods for each flavor profile to achieve a particular flavor characteristic, much like major fashion designs, meticulously researched and crafted with painstaking effort to complete a work close to artistry. Natural products undergo much refinement and improvement before reaching their most beautiful form to be presented to everyone.

Now many cafes are chasing Ninety Plus (90+) coffees, but what exactly is Ninety Plus (90+) coffee, how should one choose and purchase it, how should one taste it when buying 90+ coffee, and how to introduce it to others? The following is a brief introduction to 90+ coffee to help everyone better choose good coffee.

In 2006, Joseph Brodsky founded Ninety Plus (90+) company. Inspired by the craze caused by the appearance of Geisha in Panama in 2003 and 2004, Joseph began his journey. When he didn't find the expected results in Panama at that time, he had another idea - perhaps among Ethiopia's more than 10,000 coffee varieties, there are still undiscovered varieties with potential. To ensure quality, 90+ adopts a cooperative model with local estates, completely controlling everything from planting, sampling, harvesting to subsequent processing and cupping. 90+'s exclusive Profile Processing ensures that every coffee bean produced has a unique and stable flavor direction and quality, while 90+ coffee adopts a marketing approach similar to fine red wine, standing out in the market.

Naming and Processing Methods

90+ coffee beans adopt a completely different naming approach compared to regular specialty beans. First, unlike regular beans that include region and estate names in their names, each 90+ bean is named according to its flavor profile. For example, the famous Nekisse originally takes its meaning from the nectar of Shakisso. 90+ naming usually starts with a flavor concept, then the naming, followed by selection of regions and partner farms. In this regard, it's very different from regular specialty beans, making it a brand with boutique management style.

With regular beans, we can easily find the letters N, H, or W. For example, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe G3 N - this is the more commonly seen "Natural Yirgacheffe G3" on the market, where N represents Natural (sun-dried). And H = Honey (honey processed) and W = Washed (washed). In this regard, 90+ has a different perspective - they believe that instead of distinguishing beans by processing method, they should be distinguished by flavor direction. Generally, each processing method's beans have relatively representative flavors, for example:

Natural: Exuberant fruit aromas

Honey Processed: More prominent sweetness

Washed: Cleaner flavor profile

However, 90+ believes that sometimes different processing methods can still yield similar flavor directions. For example, honey-processed beans might end up with flavor characteristics similar to what's generally considered washed beans. Therefore, they introduced three basic flavor indicators: N2, H2, and W2, with flavors distinguished by the intensity of fruit aroma and mouthfeel:

W2: (Low) Lower fruit notes, emphasizing brightness, acidity, and floral aromas

H2: (Moderate) Moderate fruit notes, emphasizing sweetness, fruit texture (not aroma), and tea-like notes

N2: (High) Stronger fruit notes, emphasizing exuberant flavor expression, sweet-tart balance, jammy flavors, and dried fruits

In 2011, to improve the stability of green beans produced in the Panama region during the drying stage, Joseph, inspired by wood drying rooms, developed a solar drying system with the University of Wisconsin, naming this exclusive processing method Solkiln™ (SK). Of course, beans processed through this special method are extraordinarily valuable, and due to space limitations, production is extremely limited.

Grading System

Finally, 90+ beans also have a different 100-point scoring system. Mainly, all beans produced by 90+ should score above 90 points in cupping tests, and their grades are classified based on three factors: flavor, cost, and production volume:

Level 7: Special, delicate flavors that leave a deep impression

Level 12: Besides being impressive, must also have conversational value

Level 21: Limited production Level 7, usually with flavor performance exceeding Level 7

Level 39: Limited production Level 12, with flavor performance higher than Level 12

Level 95: Currently the highest grade, with tremendous changes from dry aroma to cup entry that leave an extremely deep impression, with very limited production.

Brand Recommendation

The discovery and development of good coffee is certainly something everyone hopes to see. However, many times when specialty becomes industrialized, the accompanying decline in quality is inevitable. We still hope everyone chooses rationally, doesn't blindly chase brands, chooses good coffee that suits them, and evaluates based on quality as the most important factor.

90+ Coffee Bean Brand Recommendation

The 90+ coffee bean "Zhu Mang" roasted by FrontStreet Coffee has full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, it offers extremely high cost performance - a half-pound (227g) package costs only about 90 yuan. Calculating at 15g of coffee powder per cup, one package can make 15 cups of coffee, with each cup costing only about 6 yuan. Compared to café prices that often exceed a hundred 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