What is a Peaberry?

You may have heard the term thrown around and may have thought someone was talking about a vegetable or a coffee variety. However, with this post, we are going to give you some basic knowledge about this naturally occurring anomaly so you know what folks are referring to.

So, coffee cherries normally will have two seeds. After de-pulping, these seeds will undergo fermentation, drying, and roasting. However, sometimes in nature, only one seed gets fertilized and as a result, one seed develops into a pea-like shape. This shape allows the seed to be differentiated visually compared to the flat side of a normal bean.

It is my understanding that there is no way to identify this anomaly in the field, not by looking at the tree or even the cherry. The only way to isolate this rare bean is through the sorting process. This hand sorting process adds time and labor and resulting in a premium price.

Peaberry on the right. Notice the spherical shape.

So what’s the Big Deal

There are many thoughts and opinions about this naturally occurring mutation from roasting to flavor. Some claim a difference in difficulty because of the spherical shape. Others theorize that since there was only one bean in the cherry, it benefited from receiving all the nutrients and thus is sweeter and more complex.

If you’ve never tried a coffee peaberry, we encourage you to give it a try and decide for yourself. It’s unique and fun to try something this special. We hope this information has shed some light for you on the subject and now you what a peaberry refers to within coffee.