What is Peaberry Coffee? What's the difference between Peaberries and regular coffee beans? Do coffee beans have male/female classification? Why are PB grade beans more expensive?

The Truth About Peaberry Coffee Beans: Separating Fact from Fiction

Most coffee enthusiasts have likely encountered a few "special cases" among their coffee beans—beans that look distinctly different from the rest. While typical coffee beans have a semi-circular shape with one flat side, these "special cases" lack a flat surface entirely, appearing as complete ovals.

Unfortunately, these uniquely shaped beans have been surrounded by numerous misconceptions for years. Perhaps the most prevalent myth is that these beans represent the "male" coffee beans.

Male Beans? Female Beans? Do Coffee Beans Really Have Genders?

As we know, a typical coffee cherry develops two coffee beans inside. When the notion of male and female beans emerged, people naturally imagined these two beans having different appearances. The oval-shaped beans became "male beans," while those with flat surfaces were designated as "female beans." In reality, however, coffee beans have no gender distinction. The two beans that develop inside a single coffee cherry both have flat sides. These flat sides face each other inside the cherry, fitting together perfectly. When we remove the fruit's skin and pulp, we can separate them into two individual coffee beans with flat surfaces. These are what we call "flat beans."

However, some coffee cherries, due to specific growing conditions (primarily environmental factors), cannot develop enough nutrients to support two beans. Consequently, they sacrifice one bean and develop only a single coffee bean. Without the pressure from another bean, this lone coffee bean has ample growing space and doesn't develop the flat surface that would have formed from compression. This results in its oval shape. Such beans are known as "Peaberries."

Peaberries are quite rare, accounting for only about 5% of total coffee beans in any given batch. Some Southeast Asian merchants capitalize on this rarity and distinctive appearance to create compelling stories—essentially marketing points—to sell these beans at higher prices. FrontStreet Coffee would like to share why these merchants deliberately create such narratives: in some countries, coffee bean grading systems are based on size, with larger beans commanding higher prices. However, peaberries are naturally smaller than flat beans, typically grading in the 14-15 mesh size range. But if sellers separate them and emphasize their scarcity alongside an engaging story, they can sell them at prices comparable to 17-18 mesh grade beans. This marketing approach has given rise to another misconception: people assume that since a single peaberry consumes all the nutrients from one coffee cherry and commands such a high price, its flavor must be superior. But is this really true?

Do Peaberries Really Taste Better Than Flat Beans?

Rather than making claims without evidence, FrontStreet Coffee didn't specifically purchase peaberries for testing to minimize batch-to-batch variations. Instead, we picked out peaberries from a bag of ungraded, single-origin beans and conducted a cupping test! (Perhaps we had too much time on our hands.)

As shown above, FrontStreet Coffee extracted 12 grams of peaberries from 220 grams of Geisha beans. Next, we began our cupping test to determine whether there truly are differences between the two types! (Process details omitted)

After multiple tastings, the experiment concluded! FrontStreet Coffee's findings revealed: there was basically no difference! This is similar to single-origin coffee made from different varieties harvested from the same plot—peaberries and flat beans from the same location and variety show minimal difference. Therefore, everyone should avoid the flavor misconception surrounding peaberries and not develop special expectations about their taste based on their story or price.

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