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Do Coffee Beans Have Male and Female Varieties? Do Kopi Luwak Coffee Beans Have Genders?

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 public account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Indonesian Male and Female Coffee Beans. In fact, coffee trees themselves do not have male and female distinctions. Coffee flowers are plants that simultaneously possess both male and female reproductive organs, belonging to the Rubiaceae family of the Gentianales order. Since they are hermaphroditic, there are no so-called male or female trees.

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Indonesian Coffee Peaberry and Flat Beans

In fact, coffee trees themselves do not have male and female distinctions. Coffee flowers are plants that possess both male and female organs simultaneously, belonging to the Rubiaceae family of the Gentianales order.

Since they are hermaphroditic, there are no so-called male and female trees, and naturally, there should be no differences between male beans and female beans. Furthermore, the original English term for "male bean" is "Peaberry" or the abbreviation "PB," and it is not referred to as "Male Beans." The term "male bean" is just a Chinese colloquialism. In fact, it has another name called "round bean."

The Difference Between Peaberry and Flat Beans

There are three forms of seeds inside coffee cherries. In addition to the rarely seen triangular beans, a normal coffee cherry contains spherical coffee seeds composed of two coffee beans joined together, with their flat sides facing inward and curved sides facing outward. This common form of coffee bean is called a "Flat Berry," which is the so-called "female bean." A few seeds do not split and present as complete oval-shaped round beans, which are called "peaberries."

With normal coffee trees, when the fruit matures, you cannot distinguish between peaberries and flat beans. You need to open the fruit to see the shape of the beans inside. After removing the skin and pulp, if the coffee beans have already split evenly, like a cut peach, these are flat beans. If they are round and whole, just one complete bean, they are called peaberries. There is actually only a difference in growth form between these two, not a gender distinction. The Chinese colloquialism can indeed be misleading.

How Peaberries Are Formed

What conditions lead to the formation of peaberries?

Growing at the very tips of coffee tree branches may result in the formation of peaberries inside coffee cherries.

Prolonged drought, malnutrition, or early or late flowering can cause incomplete internal development of coffee cherries. Due to survival competition, one bean "eats" another bean, resulting in peaberries. If coffee cherries suffer from pests and diseases during their growth process, leading to incomplete internal development, peaberries will also be formed.

Do Peaberries Taste Better Than Flat Beans?

Some people believe that if peaberries are formed due to growing at the tips of coffee trees, they receive more adequate sunlight and heat, and their nutrient supply is exclusive, making their flavor naturally more outstanding than flat beans growing on the same tree. Another theory suggests that due to their shape characteristics, peaberries are easier to roll during roasting compared to flat beans, which is beneficial for improving roasting uniformity.

Knowledge Point: Pacamara is a hybrid variety discovered in El Salvador in 1950, a cross between Pacas and Maragogipe.

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