What is Ninety Plus 90+ Coffee? Flavor Profile of ninetyplus 90+ Coffee

Introduction to Ninety Plus Coffee

Ninety Plus Coffee — usually shortened to 90+ — is a green coffee company that has become one of the most talked-about names in specialty coffee. Founded in 2007, it is known worldwide for sourcing and selling rare, distinctive coffees. Beyond working directly with coffee farmers, the company also owns a 134-hectare coffee estate in Panama, and today its customers span more than 40 countries.

Why is 90+ So Popular?

Put simply: every coffee Ninety Plus releases must cup above 90 points, which is exactly where the company's name comes from. Every lot is meticulously selected, and all of them score above 90 on the SCAA cupping scale — a bar very few producers in the world can clear.

To put that number in context, here is how the SCAA scale breaks down:

Coffees scoring below 80 points do not qualify as specialty coffee at all.

Coffees between 80 and 85 points fall into the general specialty grade — solid, well-made coffees.

Coffees between 85 and 90 points reach the premium grade. These are already remarkable beans; many of the top-five finishers in Cup of Excellence competitions land in this band.

Coffees between 90 and 100 points occupy the rare, ultra-premium tier. Everything 90+ releases belongs here. Every lot exceeds 90 points, and the company's lots have reached a brilliant 97 points — one of the most celebrated results in coffee history.

NPGE Estate and Exclusive Varieties

In 2009, Ninety Plus established the NPGE Estate in Panama, dedicated exclusively to growing the most prestigious variety in the world — Geisha — supported by a strong research and development team. The estate developed exclusive processing techniques unlike those of any other mill, a genuine watershed moment for the coffee industry. After several years of cultivation, the NPGE Estate has introduced five Geisha expressions: Lycello, Perci, Juliette, Silvia, and Lotus.

Perci has even spawned upgraded versions — Perci Red (Red Process) and Perci Ruby — each exploring a different dimension of Perci's sweetness. Silvia and Lotus are the newest releases made with the innovative SK processing method.

Tasting 90+ Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee carries a representative 90+ release called Zhumang. Roasted to a medium-light level and brewed with 90°C water for about two minutes, it opens with distinctive floral notes, then unfolds into superb nectarine and tropical fruit flavors with a whisper of oak barrel aroma.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the perfume and fruit of 90+ Geisha appeal to you, Panama is the origin to explore, and FrontStreet Coffee offers several lots from the country's classic growing regions of Boquete and Volcan, where fertile volcanic soil, cool nights, and frequent mountain mists create ideal conditions for the variety. The entry point is the FrontStreet Boquete Washed Geisha, an estate-level Geisha grown at 1,600 meters on rich volcanic ash soil. In the cup you find everything Geisha is famous for: jasmine blossom, green tea, honey, citrus, and orange, with a long floral aftertaste.

For the pinnacle of Panamanian Geisha, look to the FrontStreet Esmeralda Red-Label Geisha. Hacienda Esmeralda is the estate that first discovered Geisha's extraordinary cup and popularized it worldwide, grading its harvest by elevation into Red, Green, and Blue labels. The Red Label is the top tier — Geisha harvested from a single plot above 1,700 meters that must cup at 91 points or higher, showing exquisite orange-blossom and honeyed sweetness. If Geisha's price is a stretch, the FrontStreet Flower Butterfly offers half of Geisha's pedigree at a friendlier level: a blend of Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai grown on the Baru volcano, prized for its jasmine aroma, citrus acidity, and body that suit both pour-over and cold brew, while the FrontStreet Diamond Mountain — Caturra and Catuai from Esmeralda's Jaramillo and Canas Verdes farms — delivers lush fruit aromatics and sweetness from old-forest shade and volcanic soil.