Is Bali Gold Coffee Brand a Scam? How to Brew Bali Peaberry/Egg Bean Coffee?

Peaberry Coffee Beans from Bali: A Rare and Precious Gift

Recently I received a small gift: peaberry coffee beans from Bali. What? Peaberry? Do coffee beans really have male and female? Not exactly. "Male" and "female" coffee beans are just folk names; more accurately, they should be called "peaberries" and "flat beans." A peaberry is oval in shape with finer creases in the middle after roasting, while a "female bean" (flat bean) appears slightly flatter, with more obvious creases after roasting. According to the local factory, only about 1 kilogram of peaberries can be selected from every 300 kilograms of coffee beans, making them even rarer and more precious.

Bali's Golden Rabbit coffee beans (peaberries)

I have visited the Golden Coffee Factory in Bali, where the owner enthusiastically walks you through the entire bean production process — explaining what green beans are, what roasting methods exist, how to grind, how to brew — and finally makes a large pot of coffee with an American-style coffee machine for every visitor to taste. Perhaps because of that American-style machine, it was impossible on site to properly taste the flavor differences between peaberries and flat beans, so at the time I only bought the regular golden coffee beans and skipped the peaberries. But this time someone gave me a bag of the peaberries to try, so of course I couldn't miss the chance.

The Coffee Tasting Process

1. Check whether the packaging bag is intact, whether it has CO2 vent holes, and whether there is any damage

2. Examine the oil condition on the surface of the beans

3. Put the beans into a grinder and grind to different fineness levels

4. Use an espresso machine to pull several espressos and taste the flavor

Comparing Peaberries and Flat Beans

Comparison image: flat bean (left) with peaberries (the two beans on the right)

In the picture, the bean on the far left is a regular flat bean ("female bean"), and the two on the right are peaberries ("male beans"). Can you see the difference?

The espresso brewed with Bali's peaberries showed a pretty good deep-brown crema on the surface.

This was freshly brewed espresso. I tried several grind settings and finally settled on a double espresso extracted for about 30 seconds. I didn't brew much — mainly I wanted to taste the most original texture of the beans. After tasting, I felt that perhaps because the beans had traveled across the ocean to Taiwan and had also been lightly to moderately roasted, the crema wasn't abundant, but the texture was quite good, presenting the mild taste the factory guide described — not bitter, not sour, very gentle. As for the difference from flat beans, I can only say the peaberries are best described as more "refined" — but they cost far more than flat beans. Whether they are worth buying for everyday luxury depends on your personal standards.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

When it comes to choosing beans for espresso and milk drinks — the same brewing style used to taste these Bali peaberries — FrontStreet Coffee's blends are worth a look. The FrontStreet Classic Blend is the first choice: designed specifically for espresso machines and moka pots, its greatest strength is exceptionally rich crema, and even a beginner with an entry-level home machine can easily pull dense, velvety foam. It uses the traditional "Mandheling-Brazil" (Mamba) formula for a mellow, gentle cup that both veterans and newcomers can appreciate — ideal for home or commercial use.

If crema isn't your obsession and you want quality on a budget, the FrontStreet Dark Cocoa Blend is made from 100% Arabica beans, with ample crema, a mellow body, and a friendly price — a practical pick for new cafés. The FrontStreet Premium Blend, the longest-serving espresso blend at FrontStreet's own stores (nearly ten years), pairs Brazil Cerrado with Colombia Huila beans for that most familiar, classic espresso flavor, while the FrontStreet Commercial Blend has long been the workhorse for shop owners watching costs. For something fruitier, the FrontStreet Strawberry Candy blend recreates a vivid strawberry-soft-candy sweetness by fusing the native flavors of different Arabica origins — perfect for distinctive milk coffees, and versatile enough for pour-over, moka pot, or even cold brew.