How is Panama Ninety Plus 90+ Geisha Coffee_Price of 90+ Geisha Coffee Beans

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Origin: Panama

Estate Name: Panama Ninety Plus Baru Volcano Geisha Coffee Beans

Processing Method: Natural / Honey / Washed

Variety: 100% Arabica Geisha

Roast Level: Light Roast

Altitude: 1,250-1,650m

Shelf Life: Please refer to packaging

Flavor Profiles

Natural Process:

Wine fermentation aroma, peach, blueberry, floral notes, honey, strawberry, grape juice, rose essence, sweet cantaloupe - an overall robust flavor with strong characteristics.

Honey Process:

Fruit wine aroma, peach, cherry, floral notes, ylang-ylang fragrance, mango jam, passion fruit jam, strawberry - a rounded mouthfeel with excellent sweetness.

Washed Process:

Wine aroma, floral notes, strawberry, peach, berries, passion fruit, mango - an overall clean flavor profile.

Coffee Flavor

Coffee flavor comes from the various nutrients in green coffee beans that thermally degrade into different aromatic molecular structures during roasting, creating flavors similar to various aromas. Quality coffee beans naturally carry rich aromatics and exhibit different fragrance changes at high, medium, and low temperatures - a pleasure worth savoring slowly. The Ninety Plus Panama estate, shown above in its three process styles, expresses this beautifully: the natural lot is bold and characterful, the honey lot is rounded and sweet, and the washed lot is clean and floral.

Panama Ninety Plus Baru Geisha

Ninety Plus (90+) is an internationally renowned green coffee production company, known worldwide for supplying rare and distinctive green coffee beans. Beyond direct cooperation with coffee farmers, it owns a 134-hectare coffee estate in Panama.

Founded in 2007, Ninety Plus began operations the following year, and since then traces of Ninety Plus award-winning coffees have appeared in coffee competitions around the world. For example, at the 2017 World Brewers Cup, Taiwanese competitor Wang Ce used 90+ Geisha as his selected bean and ultimately took the annual world championship.

The Ninety Plus Panama estate is located near the Baru Volcano, in a unique zone between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. This singular microclimate produces high-quality, captivating specialty coffee.

The Geisha/Gesha Variety

Forbes once ranked Geisha among "the world's ten most expensive coffees" - and now it is not merely one of them, but the most expensive coffee of all. In July 2017, Geisha green beans from Panama's Hacienda La Esmeralda set a sky-high price of $601 per pound. Then, on September 13, Ninety Plus (90+) Geisha coffee sold at auction for $5,001.5 per kilogram - roughly 150,000 New Taiwan dollars for a single kilogram of green beans!

Whether written Geisha or Gesha, the name comes from Ethiopia's Gesha Mountain. Its pronunciation matches the Japanese word "geisha," which is why Chinese speakers affectionately call it "Geisha."

Geisha has outstanding aroma, with the variety's signature florals and jasmine fragrance. It shows bright fruit acidity - think tamarind, lychee, apple, and orange - with a sweet, clean aftertaste and a remarkably smooth mouthfeel.

Coffee Processing Methods

Processing refers to the transformation of mature red coffee cherries into dried green beans. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses, shaped by the natural environment and needs of each producing region, so every region has its suitable processing methods. The methods used for this batch of beans are briefly described below:

Natural / Sundried / Dry Process

Also known as dry processing or unwashed processing, this method dries the harvested whole cherries in the sun before the husk is removed. During the long sun exposure the beans absorb flavors from the skin and pulp, giving fuller sweetness and body and easily creating unique aromas.

Honey / Pulped Natural / Semi-dry Process

Somewhere between natural and washed processing, this method removes the skin and pulp while retaining the sticky mucilage for sun drying. The name "honey" comes from that very sticky mucilage layer, which feels as sticky as honey. The mucilage retains a high proportion of sugars and acids - the key to honey processing - producing flavors that fall between natural and washed coffees.

Washed / Wet Process

After the skin and pulp are removed, the beans are soaked and fermented in tanks to clear the remaining mucilage from the parchment, then washed with water. This process yields the crisp acidity that is one of the hallmarks of specialty coffee.

Ninety Plus also pioneered its exclusive Solkiln process, using wood-fired drying chambers to dry coffee beans. After the wood is burned, it is typically placed in wood-drying chambers where temperature, humidity, and air circulation are carefully controlled and adjusted to bring the green beans' moisture content down to 10-12%.

Geisha Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

The Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda - Green Label Geisha coffee beans roasted by FrontStreet Coffee offer full assurance in both brand and quality. More importantly, they provide excellent value: each 100-gram package is priced at only 120 yuan. Calculating at 15 grams of coffee per cup, one package makes about 6 cups, with each cup costing only around 20 yuan - a conscientious choice compared with coffee shops that often charge more than 100 yuan per cup.

FrontStreet Coffee is a roastery in Guangzhou with a small storefront but a diverse range of beans, where you can find both famous and lesser-known origins; online store services are also provided.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Geisha - translated from the English "Geisha" - is one of the most beloved varieties in Arabica coffee. Its unique florals and superb sweet-acid balance have won over countless coffee lovers, while its low yield, weak disease resistance, and demanding cultivation keep prices high. Hacienda Esmeralda's Geisha line is split into the Red Label ("Esmeralda Special," grown at 1,600-1,800 meters, cupping above 90 points, with each batch from a single named plot such as Mario) and the Green Label ("Private Collection," a blend of several high-altitude lots that showcases the estate's signature Geisha character at a friendlier price).

For newcomers who want a first taste of the legendary "Geisha flavor," FrontStreet recommends the entry-level Panama Boquete Geisha: at an accessible price it delivers classic Panamanian orange-blossom honey sweetness, an oolong-tea finish, delicate fruit acidity, and clear layering. Those ready to explore Geisha's birthplace can try FrontStreet Granana Estate Geisha from Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe - medium-light roasted to reveal bright citrus acidity, elegant ginger-flower aroma, full ripe-fruit sweetness, and the variety's signature refined finish - or step up to Geisha Village's Gold Label (Geisha 1931, 10% of the estate's output, crafted as a refined natural) and Red Label (Gori Gesha, 15% of output, scoring 88+ on the SCA 100-point scale with fully traceable lot information).

Brewing tips from FrontStreet: Geisha is a medium-light roast with a hard, dense bean that tends to sink and clog the dripper, so grind slightly coarse - about 78% pass-through on a #20 sieve (roughly fine granulated sugar) - and use water at 91°C. Dose 15g into a small Hario V60 at a 1:16 ratio, using a three-pour method: bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, pour in small circles to 125g, then top up to 225g once the bed drains halfway, for a total extraction time of about 2:10-2:20.