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Peaberry vs. Regular Coffee Beans: Which is Better? Is the Difference Just Round vs. Flat?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Peaberry and Flat Beans: Peaberries and flat beans, peaberries have relatively smaller production yields and more complex flavors, making them more expensive. For flat beans, larger ones are generally more expensive, but they could also be varieties and not necessarily better. A coffee cherry typically contains two beans facing each other.

Introduction to Coffee Bean Types: Peaberry and Flat Beans

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Peaberry vs. Flat Beans

Peaberries have relatively smaller yields but richer flavors, making them more expensive. For flat beans, larger ones are typically more expensive, though they might be variants and not necessarily better.

Coffee fruits contain two beans pressed together. After removing the husk, the two beans can be separated. Each individual bean is a coffee bean. Since the side that was pressed together is flat, they are called flat beans.

When beans don't properly divide into two during growth, they remain as a single bean after maturing and husking. This single bean is elliptical, hence called peaberry. Peaberries have low yields, commonly found on the branches of young coffee trees, accounting for about 5% of the total tree yield. Due to their rarity, they are more expensive, though their flavor profile doesn't vary significantly.

Coffee beans can be categorized as washed or dry-processed, and as flat beans or peaberries. Coffee beans range from light to dark in color. Through deep roasting, coffee beans crack open, expanding to double their volume while losing nearly a quarter of their weight. During the roasting process, coffee beans gradually develop volatile flavor oils, achieving perfect balance among various flavors. Even within the same producing country, coffee beans' flavor and quality are subtly influenced by regional differences in climate, altitude, and soil quality, creating distinct characteristics.

The coffee flower is a plant possessing both male and female reproductive organs, belonging to the Rubiaceae family of the Gentianales order. Coffee beans themselves are the core seeds of coffee fruits before roasting. They can grow naturally when fallen into soil, and even a single tree can produce coffee fruits.

Since coffee plants are hermaphroditic, there are no distinctions between male and female trees, naturally eliminating differences between so-called male and female beans. Furthermore, the English term for what Chinese calls "male beans" is "Peaberry" or abbreviated as "PB" - it's not referred to as "Male Beans." The term "male bean" is merely a Chinese colloquialism; in fact, it has another name: "round bean."

Key Knowledge Points

It takes approximately five years for coffee to go from cultivation to commercial production. This process includes steps such as flowering, fruiting, harvesting, processing, storage, and sales, until we receive the raw coffee beans in the terminal market.

Conclusion

In summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research establishment dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation because we want more friends to fall in love with coffee. Additionally, we hold three coffee discount events monthly because FrontStreet Coffee wants to enable more friends to enjoy the best coffee at the lowest prices - this has been our mission for six years!