Ninety Plus90+ Geisha Coffee Beans Story - Ninety Plus Geisha Estate Flavor Profile and Taste Description

When people hear "90+," many first think of scores, but in the coffee world the name always sparks lively discussion: What new beans has 90+ released? Have they used any novel processing methods this time? Today, FrontStreet Coffee explains exactly what 90+ is.

What is 90+?

90+, or Ninety Plus, is the name of an American green coffee company. In cupping, 90 also happens to be a score only exceptionally high-quality beans reach, so people often assume that 90+ the company exists to produce nothing but beans scoring above 90.

That assumption is not unfounded. The beans 90+ produces really are outstanding. Eleta, with its longan and spice notes, and Juliette, with grape and champagne notes, both sold by FrontStreet Coffee, come from 90+. Tasted alongside other beans, they are immediately recognizable as 90+ coffee, because their character is not reproducible elsewhere. That character comes from a production system 90+ built for itself: Profile Processing.

90+ Profile Processing

As mentioned, 90+ is a green coffee company, meaning it deals in unroasted beans. What sets it apart from other green coffee merchants is Profile Processing, established by founder Joseph Brodsky when the company began.

Typical green coffee merchants buy the way most of us do: they cup the beans first, then purchase the high-quality lots that taste good, and resell green beans produced by others. What made 90+ different was that it did not want to be responsible only for purchasing. It wanted to handle everything, from bean selection and cultivation to processing, and in effect create its own high-quality green coffee. After the company was founded in 2006, that plan was set in motion.

At first, 90+ was not large and lacked the funds to take part in every stage of green coffee production, so it started with processing, since it held the technology to control flavor expression. The approach was to buy freshly picked cherries from nearby farmers, bring them back to the processing plant for refined post-processing, and from this work Aricha and Beloya were born.

Those two beans carried extremely rich fruit flavors and caused a sensation on release, giving 90+ a remarkable debut and a great deal of recognition. The fame brought substantial income, which meant the company could finally involve itself in other stages of green coffee production. Riding that momentum, 90+ began selecting promising farmers and gradually stepped into every stage of production. In the end, it could offer farmers and processing plants varying degrees of guidance based on the flavor profile it wanted, helping them adjust the beans toward the intended result.

90+ still was not satisfied. It also screened the beans it produced until it found the ones that best matched its vision before releasing them for sale. That is why the quality of 90+ beans stays at the top tier: not through luck or opportunism, but through diligent work and consistently upheld standards.

90+ Estates

By 2009, having succeeded in Ethiopia, 90+ returned to Panama with years of accumulated technology and experience and established the 90+ Geisha Estate. Because it had not found varieties in Ethiopia to match Geisha, it decided to work directly with Geisha and apply its technology to the variety. Five years later, in 2014, the estate finally began producing coffee, and the 90+ series was born. Both the Eleta Geisha and the Juliette Geisha sold by FrontStreet Coffee come from this series.

90+ Estate Geisha Coffee Beans

On FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu there are two beautifully named 90+ Geisha coffees: Juliette and Eleta. A medium roast interprets their full, juicy body and rich florals perfectly. FrontStreet Coffee will say plainly that both beans live up to the 90+ reputation.

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Ninety Plus 90+ Geisha Eleta Coffee Beans
Country: Panama
Grade: SHG
Region: Volcán Region
Estate: Ninety Plus
Variety: Geisha
Altitude: 1400-1800 meters
Processing Method: 90+ Special Processing
Flavors: Bergamot, Sweet Orange, Pineapple, Longan, Dried Fruit, Apple

FrontStreet Coffee: Panama Ninety Plus 90+ Geisha Juliette Coffee Beans
Country: Panama
Grade: SHG
Region: Volcán Region
Estate: Ninety Plus
Variety: Geisha
Altitude: 1400-1800 meters
Processing Method: 90+ Special Processing
Flavors: Muscat Grape, Champagne, Perfumed Lemon, Full and Rounded Body, Long and Pleasant Sweet Aftertaste

Brewing Recommendations for 90+ Geisha Coffee

Coffee Beans: 90+ Eleta Geisha, 90+ Juliette Geisha
Dripper: V60
Water Temperature: 92 degrees C
Coffee Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar size (80% passing through a #20 sieve)

Both beans belong to 90+ special processing. After tasting, FrontStreet Coffee suspects they underwent anaerobic natural processing, so a finer grind is recommended to extract these faster-draining beans properly.

Fold the filter paper to sit snugly in the dripper, wet it with a little water so it adheres, and pour off the water from the server. Add the coffee and tap gently to level the bed. For the first pour, gently add 30g of water and bloom for 30 seconds. For the second pour, add water in an even, steady outward circle to about 135g. Wait for the coffee to drop, and when it reaches halfway, add the final pour to 225g. When all the coffee has dripped through, usually in about 2 minutes total, a cup of 90+ Geisha is ready.

Fast forward to 2019: after the Geisha Estate, 90+ acquired another plot and established a new estate near Barú Volcano, naming it "90+ Barú Estates." With volcanic soil to draw on, 90+ should be able to produce even more delicious beans. Counting from its establishment in 2019 and five years of cultivation, FrontStreet Coffee expects we will not have to wait much longer to taste the new offerings from 90+ Barú Estates.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

For drinkers who want to explore Panama Geisha beyond 90+, FrontStreet Coffee carries several lots that trace the same lineage. The Esmeralda Red Label and Green Label are the best known. The Red Label is grown at 1,600-1,800 meters, each lot must cup above 90 points, and every lot carries its own number and comes from a single plot, so buyers can choose a batch by the finest flavor differences. The Green Label, or Private Collection, blends lots from several plots to express the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character at a more accessible price.

For a first taste of the famous Geisha profile, FrontStreet Coffee usually points newcomers to the Boquete Geisha, an entry-level estate lot grown at 1,600 meters on fertile volcanic soil. It delivers the classic orange-blossom and honey character of Panama Geisha with jasmine, green tea, honey, citrus, and orange, and it is a fraction of the price of the top lots. FrontStreet also offers the Flower Butterfly, a blend of Geisha, Caturra, and Catuai from the Boquete region, where estates such as Hacienda La Esmeralda and Elida are located; because premium Geisha makes up a full 70% of the blend, it shows clear grapefruit and citrus with light florals and a bright, tea-like quality.

Geisha is a medium-light roast with a hard, dense bean that can sink and clog the dripper, so FrontStreet Coffee suggests a grind around the size of fine sugar, water at about 91 degrees C, 15g of coffee, and a 1:16 ratio in a small V60. Pour in three stages, and expect a total extraction time of about 2 minutes 10 seconds to 2 minutes 20 seconds.