Panama 90+ Geisha Estate Introduction Du Jianing Champion 90+ Geisha Special Process Coffee Beans Flavor Characteristics

I recently watched Du Jianing's brewing video again and could not resist writing about Panama 90+ Geisha to reinforce what I know. FrontStreet Coffee is here to explore it with you today, focusing on the Ninety Plus Estate and the Ninety Plus Geisha Estate.

The Ninety Plus Estate represents the essence of the 90+ brand, located on the western slope of Baru Volcano. This is the world's first and only place where heritage Ethiopian coffee varieties are grown under a complete forest canopy at this scale. It is like a large nature park for growing coffee inside a forest community, complete with waterfalls, giant trees, volcanic landscapes, and even jaguar pools.

The design philosophy of the Ninety Plus Geisha Estate draws on how wild coffee grows in its natural Ethiopian habitat. The Geisha variety, along with all heritage coffee varieties, originates in the wild forests of Ethiopia. These heritage varieties live long — some a century or more — while producing relatively small amounts of coffee. Founder Joseph Brodsky had the chance to acquire this large piece of land, roughly 200 hectares, in 2009. The first large-scale production began in 2014, and within 6 years it had won 5 World Brewers Cup championships.

Coffee Details

Country: Panama

Estate: Ninety Plus Geisha Estate

Processing Method: Ninety Plus Special Processing

Variety: Geisha

Ninety Plus is an internationally renowned coffee producer and seller, known for delivering high-quality beans at favorable prices. Since it was established in 2007, Ninety Plus has earned numerous awards, is used by many roasters, and has collected plenty of praise in coffee reviews.

Flavor Characteristics

The flavor profile is built mainly on tropical fruit, with mango, passion fruit, berries, and wine aromas, creating a smooth and juicy experience.

This green bean is processed with "Special Processing," so even when it is roasted light to medium, some oil separation may still occur.

Du Jianing's Competition Experience

In the brewing competition Du Jianing used a different bean — also from the Ninety Plus Geisha Estate in Panama, grown at 1600 meters altitude and processed with yeast fermentation. The judges tasted it in three stages: hot, warm, and cold.

First Tasting: You are immersed in an elegant, red-velvet-like floral aroma, followed by waves of apricot and cocoa fragrance, and finally a sweet cream aroma.

Second Tasting: You first taste red apricot and white grape, then pleasant cocoa and champagne flavors, and finally a hint of gentle violet.

Third Tasting: In the aftertaste, the palate picks up white wine, apricot, and violet notes that linger and swirl in the mouth for a long time.

Another Geisha from FrontStreet Coffee

Although FrontStreet Coffee's stores do not currently stock this particular bean, it does carry Geisha varieties. Worth recommending is the coming Geisha from the Nuoguo Estate in Panama's Volcan region — equally delicious.

This bean uses pressure anaerobic processing, and FrontStreet Coffee's roasters apply a cinnamon roast. The overall flavor features berries, apples, and nectarine fermentation aromas, with a honey-like sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the Ninety Plus Estate's forest-grown Geisha is what caught your attention, FrontStreet Coffee's own Geisha lineup is the place to start exploring the variety. The entry point is FrontStreet Coffee's Boquete Geisha, an estate-level coffee grown at 1600 meters on the fertile volcanic ash soil of the Boquete mountains, where mist by day and cool nights slow the fruit's ripening; the cup shows jasmine florals, green tea, honey, citrus, and orange.

From there, FrontStreet Coffee carries the Hacienda La Esmeralda tiers: the Red Label (Esmeralda Special), harvested from single plots between 1600-1800 meters and cupped above 90 points in numbered lots, and the Green Label (Private Collection), a blend of several plots that expresses the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character at a friendlier price. For an Ethiopian, single-variety counterpart in the same family, FrontStreet Coffee's Glana Gesha comes from the Genlana area where Kochere and Gedeb meet; the cherries are hand-picked whole-ripe and dried on raised beds for 14-20 days, and a medium-light roast yields bright citrus acidity, elegant ginger-flower aroma, and ripe-fruit sweetness with a fine, silky texture.

For Geisha as an espresso, FrontStreet Coffee suggests its Glana Gesha SOE: at a medium roast it keeps the variety's floral-fruit character and dried-fruit sweetness while adding the white florals and lemon-bright acidity of Ethiopia, so the espresso itself turns into dried apricot, caramel, and nuts. FrontStreet Coffee's plan is 20g of coffee, a 1:2 coffee-to-liquid ratio, a 25-second shot, and 40g of espresso; for a Geisha SOE Americano add 200g of hot water at 1:5 for orange, nut, and blueberry notes, or 200g of milk for a latte with a creamy shortbread texture.