Characteristics of 90+ Coffee: What is ninetyplus coffee? How to drink 90+ coffee?

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What is 90+ Coffee?

In recent years, you may have heard the term "90+ coffee." But what exactly are 90+ coffee beans?

"90+" doesn't refer to all coffees scoring above 90 points in evaluations. It refers to a carefully selected series of premium coffees.

They come from different estates and possess various flavor characteristics. During processing, coffee experts separate these coffees by variety, climate, and maturity, tasting each one individually. They are like nearly perfect works of art—coffee experts pour their hearts into ensuring these beans achieve optimal flavor and are presented in their most perfect form.

The pursuit of ultimate flavor by 90+ is truly admirable. Their sustainable development model and environmentally friendly practices are also learning goals for many coffee producers. Since the company was founded in 2006, this young company has made itself known to coffee professionals worldwide in just a few years. The coffee series that debuted in 2007 was immediately regarded as a precious selection by coffee connoisseurs.

Joseph Brodsky, the founder of 90+, discovered early on that high-quality green coffee beans worldwide originate from Ethiopia, and its various varieties offer flavor profiles no less diverse than 10,000 grape varieties producing 1 million different fine wines.

90+ green beans all come from Ethiopia's original varieties, including the Gesha variety from Panamanian estates, which was transplanted from Ethiopia's native heirloom varieties. Processing is 90+'s specialty—they separate these coffees by variety, microclimate, and harvest time, tasting each one individually, and design specific processing methods for each flavor profile. Like high-end fashion design, they meticulously research and devote tremendous effort to complete these near-artistic craft products. Natural products undergo numerous refinements and improvements before being presented to the public in their most beautiful form.

To ensure quality, 90+ adopts a cooperative model with local estates, maintaining complete control from planting, sampling, and harvesting through subsequent processing and cupping. 90+'s exclusive Profile Processing ensures that every coffee bean released has unique and stable flavor characteristics and quality. Meanwhile, 90+ coffee employs a marketing approach similar to fine wine, standing out in the market.

When 90+ first began, they only purchased the highest quality coffee cherries from various Ethiopian coffee farmers, starting with processing methods to apply the most refined processing to existing excellent beans. This led to the debut of their initially famous representative beans: Aricha and Beloya. The results of these experiments were astonishing—rich fruit flavors and high quality shocked the specialty coffee community.

As coffee gradually moved toward the high-priced specialty market, 90+ pioneered its own green bean production system—Profile Processing.

They select coffee farmers with potential, provide feedback on ideal flavor profiles based on current coffee bean characteristics to farmers and processing plants, and engage in process reengineering. Through scientific management, they gradually adjust samples toward the 90+ predetermined flavor profiles. Of course, only those that best match the predetermined profiles are selected for release.

Simply put, Profile Processing extends management upstream—controlling everything from coffee farmers' planting varieties, origins, climate, cultivation methods, harvesting, and processing methods. This allows them to produce exceptionally high-quality coffee beans according to their preferences. The power of the Profile Processing system lies in mastering the technology that controls flavor expression. Therefore, they can establish the highest standards and surpass the luck-based selection methods of typical green bean merchants. Exceeding quality standards is not a matter of luck but rather the average, which is the core value consistently upheld by the 90+ company.

Processing Methods and Flavor Classifications

We typically find beans with letters N, H, or W, such as Ethiopian Yirgacheffe G3 N, which is commonly seen as "Natural Yirgacheffe G3" on the market. Here, N represents Natural processing, H = Honey processing, and W = Washed processing. However, 90+ has a different perspective. They believe beans should be classified by flavor profile rather than processing method. Generally, each processing method produces characteristic flavors, for example:

Natural: Exuberant fruit aromas

Honey: More prominent sweetness

Washed: Cleaner flavors

However, 90+ believes that different processing methods can sometimes yield similar flavor profiles. For instance, a honey-processed bean might exhibit flavor characteristics similar to what's typically expected from washed beans. Therefore, they introduced three basic flavor indicators: N2, H2, and W2, classified 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 mouthfeel (not aroma), and tea-like notes

N2: (High) Stronger fruit notes, emphasizing exuberant flavor expression, sweet-tart balance, jam-like qualities, and dried fruit characteristics

Candlelight Coffee from FrontStreet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee also features a representative coffee from the 90+ company: Candlelight. Roasted to medium-light level and brewed with 90°C water for about two minutes, it offers special floral aromas and excellent nectarine and tropical fruit flavors, along with oak barrel notes.

What is Candlelight LEVEL UP 90+?

Ethiopia's heirloom varieties are grown in fertile soil at altitudes between 1750-2000 meters, with suitable temperatures and adequate rainfall, allowing Sidamo to exceed expectations for natural-processed coffees. Natural-processed coffees typically have good sweetness but lack the clean brightness of washed coffees. However, Candlelight coffee, beyond the inherent quality of the beans themselves, owes its excellence entirely to appropriate post-processing, constant temperature and humidity warehouse conditions, and suitable roasting.

90+ beans are named differently from specialty beans—they start with flavor concepts. "Candlelight" means "Best approach" locally, inheriting the captivating aroma of traditional natural processing while offering rich, full-bodied fruit flavors. Generally, natural-processed coffees struggle to achieve clean and bright mouthfeel, but Candlelight possesses the bright acidity of washed coffees along with the rich body of natural-processed coffees, with floral and fruit notes intertwined to create complex aftertaste.

About FrontStreet Coffee

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online shop services: https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473