Peaberry (or Moka) coffee is a unique type of coffee because its cherry has only one bean inside, and, because of that, the shape of this coffee is like peas, so we call it Peaberry!
You may wonder if Peaberry coffee tastes differently than other coffees and you are right! Usually, coffee lovers describe Peaberry coffee as dense and, at the same time intense, it often has a more developed taste, concentrated and even sweeter. And because they are smaller than a usual coffee bean, they have less area to roast, resulting in a coffee with less acidity and less bitterness.
On the other hand, since the cherry has only one bean inside it, it will have more caffeine in the Peaberry coffee. It is more aromatic than a usual bean as well.
They are considered anomalies and not defects in coffee classification.
As a hint, we can suggest that the roasted coffee ground as Fine will show a better result on the cup! Keeping in mind the specific characteristics of the Peaberry, a fine grind enhances its unique flavor palette.
The Peaberry can be found in many countries, such as Tanzania, Kenya, Costa Rica, and Brazil, but this doesn’t mean it is easy to purchase this coffee. It is estimated that this kind of beans account for 5 to 10% of the harvest. That is why Peaberry can be more expensive than other coffees, sometimes.
There are 3 different screen sizes of Peaberry, and they are divided as follows:
Moka Large Screen: 11, 12, and 13.
Moka Medium Screen: 10.
Moka Fine Screen: 9 and smaller
To Europe we export only Moka large Screen, while in Brazil the smaller ones are used in the local market for ground coffee.