How to Distinguish Male and Female Coffee Beans, and How to Use Male Coffee Beans – Do They Have a Hormonal Aroma?

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Male and Female Coffee Beans

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There are three forms of seeds in coffee fruits. In addition to the extremely rare triangular beans, a normal coffee cherry contains spherical coffee seeds composed of two coffee beans joined together, with flat faces facing inward and curved surfaces facing outward. This common form of coffee bean is called a flat bean, also known as the "female bean." A small number of seeds do not split but instead present as complete oval-shaped round beans, which are called "male beans."

In reality, there is only a difference in growth form between these two, not a gender distinction. The Chinese common names can indeed be misleading.

What conditions lead to the formation of male beans?

Male beans are a variant of coffee beans, primarily referring to Peaberry or caracoli, with "male bean" being just the Chinese common name. From a botanical perspective, male beans can be considered a defect. There are two causes: one is damage by insects before the coffee forms fruit; the other may be factors such as prolonged drought or nutrient imbalance affecting the coffee tree. Additionally, coffee beans growing at the end of coffee tree branches may also exhibit this phenomenon.

Do male beans taste better than female beans?

Some people believe that if male beans are formed at the ends of coffee tree branches, they receive more adequate sunlight and heat, and their nutrient supply is exclusive, making their flavor naturally more outstanding than female beans growing on the same tree. Another theory suggests that due to their physical characteristics, male beans roll more easily than female beans, which is beneficial for improving roasting uniformity.

Because male beans tend to be larger in size, they produce coffee with continuous fragrance and lingering sweetness when brewed. They are relatively rare and are known as "dream coffee." It is precisely because of these characteristics that round beans are now sold as tourist products in a Southeast Asian tourist country, commanding quite high prices. However, they are not as good as claimed, so everyone should be cautious when purchasing.

Knowledge Point

It takes about five years for coffee to go from cultivation to fruit production and mass yield. During this process, steps including flowering, fruiting, harvesting, processing, storage, and sales occur until we receive the raw coffee beans in the terminal market.

In Brief

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