A Peaberry coffee offers coffee drinkers a unique flavor and intensity and is said to be the best in Hawaii.
We have reviewed the best Peaberry coffee to help you get an in-depth look at various brands, what they have to offer you, and a textual glimpse into their taste.
Best Peaberry Coffees
Koa Coffee Peaberry Dark Roast
Kona Coffee is generally sourced from a single coffee plantation on the Hawaiian Islands.
However, the demand for Peaberry beans has led the leaders of Kona Coffee to buy Peaberries from some smaller farms on the islands.
Kona Coffee works with growers across the Hawaiian Islands, so you can be assured that your Peaberry coffee is truly Hawaiian and has been hand-picked at the peak of ripeness.
Very few Peaberry coffee bean options are available in dark roast. This bean has a fruity overtone and lends itself well to mild and medium roasting.
That being said, the Kona process includes a coffee tasting (cupping) of each blended variety, so if dark roast is your favorite, consider trying the Kona Peaberry dark.
Many restaurants won’t guarantee a well-done steak; it’s “buyer beware” if you want your filet fully cooked. Coffee beans, too, can easily go from medium-dark to unusable if not handled carefully.
The risk of burning your Peaberry coffee is real, but Kona Coffee has the expertise to deliver a delicious cup of dark roast to your breakfast table.
Volcanica Peaberry Connoisseur Gift Box
This is an ideal purchase for fans of Peaberry coffee as it offers a sampling from around the world. You’ll enjoy coffee from Costa Rica, Kona in Hawaii, Colombia and Kenya.
These are 100% Arabica Peaberry beans and are a medium roast. This milder roasting confirms that you can enjoy the mild, fruity overtones of this delicious coffee.
Volcanica Coffee got its start when descendants of Costa Rican immigrants noted that their mountain grown coffee had a much better flavor than the coffee they could find in the United States.
Additional study of different coffee producing regions demonstrated that mountain grown coffees grown in volcanic soil had a much better flavor and aroma.
Every coffee bean you buy from Volcanica is roasted at the time of purchase; freshness is not a worry. The roasting facility is located in Atlanta, Georgia, so every package can get to your home quickly.
Volcanica Coffee goes through several inspection steps, from coffee plantation to final cupping before it leaves the Georgia facility. You love coffee and they love making it right for you!
Volcanica Peaberry is mountain grown and hand-picked. The owners of this company are dedicated to the selection and production of the best coffee, grown in the best conditions and roasted to your preference.
Tanzanian Peaberry Coffee Fresh Roasted Coffee LLC
Fresh Roasted Coffee offers a wide variety of beans and roasts for their customers, including the option to buy green coffee beans and roast it yourself.
Their Tanzania Peaberry is grown on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. Fresh Roasted Coffee recommends storing it in an airtight, light blocking container in a cool space.
If organic coffee is critical to your taste, be aware that this Arabica bean is not organic. Many users find it to be too oily coming out of the bag; the packaging states that this is a light roast, but behaves like a darker roast in the grinding process.
For fans of Peaberry coffee, this mild, fruity coffee may be ideal.
If you haven’t had the chance to develop a taste for Peaberry yet, consider brewing it at a slightly lower temperature and using less coffee than you’re accustomed to until you reach a blending mixture that works best for you.
Work in small batches and pay special attention to your grind size; if you go too fine, you may suffer through a bitter, oily beverage.
Related | What Makes Coffee Bitter
Coffee Bean Direct Tanzanian Peaberry
One of the best features of products from Coffee Bean Direct is that they don’t roast the product until it’s ordered.
You get the freshest roast possible.
Coffee Bean Direct offers green coffee beans for home roasting as well, and has a tea line as well.
While Whole Bean Coffee produces both coffee and tea, they tend to sell larger packages of their products.
If you really enjoy their products, this packaging may save you money in the long run, but a five pound bag of coffee beans is an unfortunate error if you don’t enjoy the product.
This coffee is listed as a mild roast, and it holds to that quality. For coffee fans that have had to cut back due to stomach issues, a mild roast Peaberry can make coffee enjoyable again.
Be aware that this coffee comes with a mild sweetness and some fruity overtones. If you really enjoy a hearty, stout cup of rather bitter coffee, this Peaberry probably isn’t for you.
Kauai Coffee Peaberry Whole Bean
If you’ve never tried Peaberry Kona coffee before and are ready to take the plunge, the Kauai Whole Bean selection is a great place to start.
This package is only 10 ounces, so you can start small and experiment.
These beans are grown on the Koloa Estate of Hawaii. This coffee plantation works four million coffee trees and has the benefits of mountain rain and volcanic soil.
Your Peaberry coffee beans have been hand selected and roasted with care. This coffee is a lush, low-acid beverage with great flavor and mouth feel.
Take care when purchasing Kauai Coffee that your packaging confirms it is 100% Hawaiian grown; you may be surprised to find that your coffee package is a mix of Hawaiian Peaberry beans and those from elsewhere.
However, if you’re buying 100% Peaberry coffee, you’re getting 100% Peaberry beans, but some may be from other parts of the coffee growing world.
What Is Peaberry Coffee?
Regular coffee beans grow in pairs, two fruits to a husk. When harvested, they split and look rather like a peanut.
Peaberry coffee beans are a natural mutation of this split bean growth. They are round and seamed down the center, but don’t split all the way through.
Per coffee expert Erin Meister, many drinkers believe that Peaberry coffee is sweeter and has a more intense flavor.
If you enjoy a coffee with plenty of flavor but don’t care for the intensity of dark roasts, Peaberry coffee may be just the variety you’re looking for. Some sufferers of acid reflux find that Peaberry coffee is milder and has a lower acidity.
Peaberry beans are generally a bit more expensive.
This is because:
- Peaberries are rare; only 3 to 5% of coffee beans have this mutation
- Harvesting Peaberry coffee is quite labor intensive; the beans must be individually selected from the regular beans
- These beans are generally found in Tanzania, Kenya and Brazil primarily because the coffee harvesters in these regions have put in the work to more easily harvest and separate Peaberry beans.
You can find Peaberry coffee beans anywhere that coffee is grown; they are a naturally occurring mutation.
However, the harvesting process is onerous, so if you find Hawaiian Peaberry coffee, make certain it is 100% Hawaiian per the packaging.
Also, be prepared to pay a bit more for the labor necessary to pick out the Peaberry beans.
The purer your Peaberry purchase, the more expensive it will be. Also be aware that this variety can run out and be hard to get, so if you really enjoy it, buy it when you find it!
Blends can be found, but you will lose the unique Peaberry flavor.
Final Thoughts
Peaberry coffee is rare due to the limited number of Peaberry beans per harvest. It makes perfect sense that this coffee should be more expensive than regular coffee beans.
However, money is certainly an object for nearly all of us, so you’re better off to start small. If you get to enjoy Peaberry coffee at a restaurant and really want to try more, start with a small container such as the 10 ounce Kauai.
For those looking for a variety of Peaberry coffees, Volcanica’s Peaberry Gift Box is a great way to sample different beans from around the world.
Be ready to grind your beans at home, and consider ordering larger packages of beans as your taste for this delicious coffee grows!
