Peaberry

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Not to be confused with Peaberry Coffee.

Peaberry, also known as caracoli, is a type of coffee bean. Normally the fruit of the coffee plant develops as two halves of a bean within a single cherry, but sometimes only one of the two seeds gets fertilised so there is nothing to flatten it. This oval (or pea-shaped) bean is known as Peaberry. Typically around 5% of all coffee beans harvested are of this form.

Normal coffee beans are less commonly called by contrast flat berry.

Peaberry coffees are particularly associated with Tanzanian Coffee. ^[1]

[edit] Roasting

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Peaberry beans roast differently from the corresponding flat berry beans, hence to ensure an even roast, in high grade coffee, peaberry beans are separated.

Peaberry beans are widely reputed to roast better than flat berries, being said to roast more evenly, because of their rounder shape minimizes sharp edges, and rolls about the roasting chamber more easily.^[2] However, some sources claim that the effect is minor, and that the major benefit of peaberry beans is that they have been carefully selected, which is essential for optimal quality, regardless of bean shape:^[3]

The only case that can be made for a real “Peaberry difference” that affects the cup is the way a peaberry tends to behave in the roast chamber. In a fluid bed roaster it will “roll” easier and rotate better in the hot air stream. In a drum or air roaster, it will transfer heat a little better from the exterior to interior of the bean due to the fact that peaberries usually have higher bean density. But these factors have a minor influence on the final cup results.