What is Panama 90+ Geisha Coffee? What Coffee Varieties are Grown at Ninety Plus Coffee Estate?

What is "90+"?

When it comes to "90+," many coffee enthusiasts might first think of scores. In the coffee world, though, mentioning 90+ always sparks heated discussion, usually around questions like: what new beans has 90+ released? Have they used any novel processing methods? Today, FrontStreet Coffee shares exactly what this 90+ is all about.

90+ (Ninety Plus) is the name of an American green bean company. In coffee cupping contexts, it represents scores above 90 points; generally only exceptionally high-quality beans reach such high scores. People therefore often interpret the meaning behind the 90+ company as producing only beans that score above 90 points.

Of course, that interpretation isn't without reason: the beans produced by 90+ are indeed outstanding. For example, the Eleta with longan and spice notes, or the Juliette with grape and champagne flavors that FrontStreet Coffee currently sells, both come from 90+. When these beans are tasted alongside others, people can easily identify them as belonging to the 90+ series, because their uniqueness is replicable nowhere else. And that uniqueness is all thanks to 90+'s self-established production system: Profile Processing.

90+ Profile Processing

As mentioned earlier, 90+ is the name of a green bean company; "green beans" here means unroasted coffee beans, in other words, they are green bean merchants. What distinguishes 90+ from other green bean merchants is the Profile Processing system established by founder Joseph Brodsky at the company's inception.

Typically, green bean merchants buy beans much as we do: first cupping to evaluate the flavors, then procuring high-quality coffee beans with good taste. This approach means directly acquiring quality green beans produced by others for resale. What makes 90+ unique is that they didn't want to be limited to purchasing; they wanted to handle everything from bean selection to processing themselves and create their own premium green coffee beans. So after the company was founded in 2006, that plan was set in motion.

Initially, 90+ wasn't large-scale and lacked sufficient funds to cover every aspect of green bean production. They therefore had to start with coffee processing, since they possessed the technology to control flavor expression. The specific approach was to purchase freshly picked coffee cherries from surrounding coffee farmers, bring them back to the processing plant for refined post-processing, and in this context Aricha and Beloya were born.

These two beans have exceptionally rich fruit flavors and caused a tremendous sensation upon release, letting 90+ gain substantial recognition with their very first venture. Fame naturally brought significant income, which meant they now had the resources to expand into other aspects of green bean production. 90+ began selecting promising coffee farmers and gradually ventured into every aspect of green bean production. Eventually, 90+ could provide varying degrees of guidance to farmers and processing plants based on the desired flavor profiles, helping them refine their beans to match the originally intended flavors.

90+ still wasn't satisfied, though. They would repeatedly select from the produced beans until finding those that perfectly matched their vision before releasing them for sale. So it can be said that the consistent high quality of 90+ beans is not due to luck or opportunism; it is the result of their dedication to maintaining standards and their core values.

90+ Estates

By 2009, after great success in Ethiopia, 90+ returned to Panama with years of accumulated technology and experience and established the "90+ Geisha Estate." Since they hadn't found coffee varieties in Ethiopia that could match Geisha, they decided to use Geisha directly and apply their years of technical expertise to make Geisha surpass itself. Five years later, in 2014, this estate began producing coffee beans, and thus the 90+ series was born. Both the Eleta Geisha and Juliette Geisha mentioned by FrontStreet Coffee earlier come from this 90+ series.

Introduction to 90+ Estate Geisha Coffee Beans

On FrontStreet Coffee's bean menu there are two beautifully named 90+ Geisha coffee beans: Juliette and Eleta. Medium roasting lets their full juice body and rich floral notes come through perfectly. FrontStreet Coffee dares to say that the performance of these two beans truly lives 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
Flavor Notes: Bergamot, Sweet Orange, Pineapple, Longan, Fruit Preserve, 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
Flavor Notes: Muscat Grape, Champagne, Lemonade, Full and Round 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°C
Coffee Dose: 15g
Coffee-to-Water Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar size (80% passes through a #20 sieve)

Since both beans belong to the 90+ special processing, and after cupping FrontStreet Coffee suspects they are anaerobic natural processed, we recommend a slightly finer grind size to ensure proper extraction for these fast-draining beans.

Fold the filter paper to fit the dripper, wet it with a small amount of water for better adhesion, and discard the water from the server. Next, pour in the coffee grounds and gently tap to distribute them evenly. For the first pour, gently inject 30g of water for blooming, with a bloom time of 30 seconds. For the second pour, inject to approximately 135g, circling evenly and steadily. Then wait for the coffee liquid to drop; when it reaches halfway, inject the final pour to 225g. Wait for all the coffee to finish dripping, with a total extraction time of about 2 minutes, and your cup of 90+ Geisha coffee is ready.

Fast forward to 2019: after the Geisha Estate, the 90+ company acquired another plot to establish a new 90+ estate. This location is near the Barú Volcano, so 90+ named it "90+ Barú Estates." With the nourishment of volcanic soil, we believe 90+ will be able to produce even more delicious coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee calculates that, established in 2019 with five years for cultivation, we only need to wait a bit longer to enjoy the new flavors from 90+ Barú Estates. Let's look forward to it.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the 90+ Geisha series is what drew you in, FrontStreet Coffee's own Geisha lineup offers several ways to explore the variety. FrontStreet Panama Emerald Estate Red Label Geisha, officially named "Esmeralda Special," is grown at 1600-1800 meters and cupped above 90 points, with each lot traceable to a single plot; it presents elegant jasmine, citrus, bergamot and black tea. The Green Label series, "Private Collection," blends several plots to express the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character at a more accessible price. For a first taste, FrontStreet Boquete Geisha is an entry-level Panamanian Geisha with the classic orange-honey note, oolong-tea-like body and delicate fruit sweetness, while FrontStreet Grana Estate Geisha from Ethiopia shows brighter citrus acidity, ginger flower and ripe fruit; FrontStreet Geisha Village Gold Label and Red Label go deeper into single-terroir Geisha from the variety's homeland.

Because Geisha beans are dense and can easily clog a dripper, FrontStreet Coffee recommends a fine-sugar grind size, about 78% passing a #20 sieve, with 15g of coffee in a small Hario V60 and water at around 91°C. For pour-over, use a 1:16 ratio and a three-stage pour: a 30g bloom for 30 seconds, a second pour to 125g, then top up to 225g once the bed drops halfway, for a total time of about 2 minutes 10 seconds to 2 minutes 20 seconds. This keeps the floral and citrus notes expressive and the finish refined.