ORIGINS – The truth about peaberry coffee

White’s classic children’s novel, Charlotte’s Web, Wilbur the pig is the
unwanted runt of the litter, but due to some creative spider PR, Charlotte
manages to convince everyone that he’s “special” and shouldn’t be made into
bacon.

Peaberries and regular coffee beans All photos show that similarly, once upon
a time, peaberry coffee beans were considered inferior. The photo shows the size
difference between peaberries and regular beans. Great care was taken to cull
these smaller, rounded beans from the rest and discard them. Now, however,
peaberry coffee is being marketed as “the most prized and sought after coffee in
the world” and “…the ultimate indulgence.” But is it truly a prize or just a
pretender of premium quality? First, let’s find out exactly what peaberries
are.

Anatomy of the Aberration Coffee cherries are the fruit of the coffee tree,
and inside each cherry are two seeds, more commonly referred to as beans. A
peaberry is nothing more than a bean without a partner. Peaberries occur in all
varietals, in every coffee growing region and anywhere from 2%-10% of coffee
cherries harbor a single, smaller, fused bean.

Coffee blossoms and Fertility Challenged Peaberries typically develop on the
ends of the branches. No one really knows why, but one theory is that an
outermost blossom is more exposed to the wind and weather and may lose a pistil,
thereby tying one hand behind its reproductive back. Spota Java Coffee suggests
it might also be due to “insect damage to a flower [or] tree stress from
drought/nutrient imbalances…”

Do Good Things Come in Small Packages? The consensus is because peaberries
are smaller, all the nutrients and flavor are concentrated, hence the “Charlotte
the spider” marketing strategy, but this hasn’t been scientifically proven. One
of the foremost coffee experts in the world, Kenneth Davids of the Coffee
Review, stated, “one could also argue…that peaberries are runt beans produced by
half-fertile flowers, and so may be presumed to be weaker than their fat and
mated colleagues.”

Yet, he does concede that peaberry coffee tastes “different,” perhaps because
typical Arabica beans are more forgiving than peaberries, which require a more
careful ear during the roasting process.

That’s right, ear. 

Coffee roaster photo reported, “because the Peaberry coffee beans typically
roast quicker, it is important to listen carefully for the first crack and
thereafter to determine your roast preference. The Peaberry’s fast roasting
times and small size make it easy to miss your roasting ‘sweet spot.’”

The Hype Peaberry coffee beans can cost anywhere from $2 to $14 more per
pound. Why? As mentioned earlier, peaberries only comprise 2%-10% of the
harvest. They’re “rare.” As with diamonds, Mother Nature had to go to some
trouble to create the peaberry. This is a valid argument. Consumers will often
pay more for a more exclusive product. What might not be as valid is the
suggestion by some companies that a rigorous selection process occurs to
separate the peaberries from their ordinary cousins. This may or may not be
true, depending on the processor. Certainly in the past, the peaberries were
picked out by hand, but these days it may just be a matter of using slotted
screens with holes through which the peaberries fall which are too small for
their burlier cousins.

Make Up Your Own Mind Kenneth Davids is: not sure peaberry tastes better than
normal beans from the same crop, but it does taste different. Typically,
peaberry is more buoyant and more brightly acidy, more complex in the upper
aromatic ranges of the profile but somewhat lighter in body, than comparable
normally shaped beans.”

But ultimately coffee drinkers have to decide for themselves. Armed with the
knowledge of exactly what peaberry coffee is, you can now conduct your own taste
test. Here are some peaberry purveyors.

With nine varieties, Volcanica Coffee has the largest selection PT’s Coffee
Company offers Peaberry de La Lagunita – Finca Los Planes, which one Coffee
Review cupper described as “a mouth party” he didn’t want to end.

Johnson Brothers Coffee Roasters sells Kenya Peaberry Thika Gethumbwini,
described as “a home run,” by one reviewer.

Spota Java promises that their Premium Connoisseur Peaberry will “earn it’s
place as one of your most treasured coffee drinking experiences.”

Source: examiner.com