MAROON GEISHA: Ninety Plus Panama Thermolic

Maroon Geisha is produced by Joseph Brodsky at Ninety Plus Estates in Volcan Valley, Panama.

The Thermolic Process accentuates beautiful juicy and sweet flavours to deliver an extremely flavourful and enjoyable cup. The cup experience contains a perfect symphony of sweet and acidic flavours with a tea-like mouthfeel.  

Tasting Notes: Dark Chocolate, Plum, Black Cherry

Cup score:  92.00 ☕ 

This coffee is grown without the use of any chemicals and one of the key growing elements at Ninety Plus is the use of Natural spring water and rainwater for their coffees. 

Coffee's from Ninety Plus Geisha Estates was used to win the first of 5 World Brewers Cup Championships in 6 years. 

About Ninety Plus Estates

Ninety Plus Estates was founded by Joseph Brodsky in Panama. Located on the western slopes of the Barú volcano, these are the first and only places in the world where heirloom Ethiopian varieties of coffee are grown under full forest canopy at this scale.

 Like massive ecological parks with coffee growing as part of the forest community, these pristine playgrounds include trail networks which connect experiential moments ranging from waterfalls and Precolumbian petroglyphs to giant trees, volcano views, and jaguar bathing pools. 

The Ninety Plus Geisha Estates were designed with inspiration drawn from coffee growing wild in its natural habitat in Ethiopia. The Geisha variety, along with all heirloom coffee varieties, comes from the understory of wild forests in Ethiopia. These heirloom varieties of coffee live very long lives – up to 100 years or more – and produce relatively small amounts of intensely aromatic coffee. 

Joseph Brodsky had an opportunity in 2009 to acquire this large property (~200 hectares) and had a vision of reforesting its historic cattle farming lands with native tree species while planting the shade-loving Ethiopian Geisha coffee beneath the canopy. With its first significant production in 2014, coffee from Ninety Plus Geisha Estates was used to win the first of 5 World Brewers Cup Championships in 6 years. Ninety Plus Geisha Estates proves that coffee can be utilized to reforest and sustain tropical lands while producing the highest-valued coffees in the world. 

About Thermolic Process

Thermolic™ processing is a method of coffee processing that utilizes heat to accelerate the breakdown of sugars and other complex proteins in the coffee mucilage. This process starts with freshly picked coffee cherries, which are gradually heated to reach the desired temperature using the sun or other means. 

During the Thermolic™ process, the coffee cherries are exposed to warm or hot temperatures, usually around 30 to 50 degrees Celsius, in an oxygen-controlled
environment. The oxygen-controlled environment can significantly impact the flavour profile of the resulting coffee. The oxygen levels during the processing stage can also significantly impact the flavour profile of the resulting coffee. By controlling the oxygen available during fermentation, the bacteria present in the coffee cherries can produce unique flavours and aromas not found in coffee processed using traditional methods.

Once the processing stage is complete, seeds are placed to dry into a single-layer formation not exceeding 2cm in thickness in raised African beds in the Red
Room. Afterward, seeds are placed on the top level until they reach 18% humidity and then gradually moved to the lower levels to extend drying time. They are agitated every 2 hours during the daytime to ensure homogeneous drying and avoid hot spots during the drying period. Typically, drying takes 20-25 days until coffee in parchment reaches 11.5% humidity. The resulting coffee beans are known for their unique and complex flavour profile, often with notes of tropical fruit, citrus, and even wine-like characteristics.
Thermolic™ processing can produce a coffee that specialty coffee enthusiasts covet, as it offers a unique and distinctive flavour profile not found in coffee processed using traditional methods. The first coffee produced using this method was the 2013 Simeon Abbay from Shakiso Estates in Ethiopia, used two years later to win the 2015 World Brewers Cup, in Stockholm.

TRANSPARENCY REPORT

☠️ Single origin from Panama

☠️ Region: Volcán Valley

☠️ Producer: Ninety Plus

☠️ Farm: Estate #103, Gesha Estates

☠️ Lot: #23094 

☠️ Roast: Light

☠️ Brew: Filter

☠️ Varietal: Geisha

☠️ Process: Thermolic

☠️ Cup Score: 92.00

☠️ Tasting notes:

• Dark Chocolate
• Plum 
• Black Cherry

☠️ Altitude: 1450 masl

☠️ Harvest: January 2023

☠️ Whole bean