Discovering Peaberry Coffee Beans

I still remember the first time I saw a Tanzanian peaberry coffee. While searching for a brand new type of coffee and wanting something exotic, I first laid my eyes upon a small coffee shop with “peaberry coffee” on its menu.

I had been having too many of your standard South American coffees (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) and was looking for a change.

When I saw it I thought “Tanzania? That sounds awesomely different.”

Then I thought, “Peaberry, what the heck is that?”

They didn’t pee on the berries, did they?

What is Peaberry Coffee?

For the longest time I assume it was that it was not a true coffee bean, but that it was either some caffeinated similar berry, or that something was added to the coffee grounds.

And, welp, I was way off.

If you did not know, coffee beans are actually the seeds that come from the inside of a cherry-like fruit.

Tell your mom that you had 8 servings of fruit today

Now, what I did not originally understand was that inside of those cherries there are usually two coffee beans/seeds.

But, in about 5% of all coffee beans there is a mutation that leaves the cherries with only a single coffee bean inside. And that is what a peaberry is.

peaberry coffee bean vs regular coffee bean

Peaberry coffee bean on the left of a “regular bean”

Think of it like a pea inside a berry, rather than two beans pressing against each other.

When two coffee beans are inside of one cherry, it causes them to flatten on one side.

What’s the difference between Peaberry Coffee beans and regular ol’ coffee beans?

Some people think this gives peaberries a superior flavor because they more easily roll around and get more evenly roasted.

Others think that it’s because peaberry coffee roasters must seek out the 5% peaberry beans, and because they’re being more picky, they leave out the worse beans, and this makes peaberry coffee superior.

And, many others say that they simply cannot taste the difference.

I personally would love to try two coffees from the same harvest where one is peaberry and one is regular, and where all other conditions are the same.

What types of Peaberry Coffee beans are there?

Tanzania peaberry coffee seems to be the most popular type, but there many other options out there (scroll to the bottom here to see). Turkish and Hawaiian peaberry coffees have been some of the more exotic ones.

Peaberry coffees are tougher to come across, but are something that you should definitely try when you get the chance.

And, for our Spanish speaking friends? Caracol is the Spanish word for peaberry.