March 2021 - Is Smaller Better? Let's Cup a Peaberry

Welcome to March 2021’s coffee origin fellow Cuppers!

This month we open with a question; is smaller better?
The question obviously depends on what we’re discussing and requires an educated opinion on the subject. 

This month we'll delve into Peaberry coffee and how it compares to the coffees we've Cupped so far.  While we can’t speak for all Peaberries, let's at least Cup one (a good quality one at that), giving us some experience to speak of.

To understand what a Peaberry is, we need to understand the basic anatomy of the coffees we’ve been Cupping. The coffee we drink is the processed and roasted product from the seeds of a coffee cherry. The majority of Arabica coffee cherries have two elongated oval shaped seeds, within layers and membranes that make up the fruit. In the case of Peaberry only one round seed grows successfully in the fruit. 

The cherries that contain two seeds and Peaberry cherries appear the same on the outside. It is when they are harvested and dried that they can be sifted and sorted (the Peaberry seeds are smaller and round as mentioned).
Peaberry coffee beans are more dense and create at slightly differently roasting experience (in our opinion) than conventionally shaped beans. While considered a mutation, one seed, means only “one mouth to feed” for the coffee plant and fruit.
Does this extra nourishment and density translate into more concentrated flavours?
Can we distinguish the difference between Peaberry and “Normal” coffee?
Does any of this matter?
Why don’t You Go Cup Yourself and find out!


TANZANIA PEABERRY LYAMUNGO
AFRICA PLANTATION KILIMANJARO ESTATE
Varietal: Bourbon, Kents, N39
Growing Elevation: 4200+ feet
Milling Process: Washed
Drying Process: Raised Beds
Harvest Start Month: July
Harvest End Month: October
Flavour Profile and Notes: GO CUP YOURSELF and find out!

This offering is from the Lyamungo Farm, one of four farms that make up the Africa Plantation Kilimanjaro Estate (or APK Estate for short). Located in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, Lyamungo is owned by a Colombian Coffee Farmer named Alejandro Galante. The other Farms that make up the Estate are Two Bridges, Mlama, and Kahawa, each managed individually. This selection was dried on raised beds and monitored until it reached its desired moisture level.

Similarly subtle to last month's Colombian origin, this Tanzanian will reward your taste buds if you take a moment to really try and taste its complex flavours.

Roaster’s Notes:
This Peaberry Tanzanian was fun to roast. It is super quite in first crack and most of our roasting ques came from colour, timing and temperature.  We are going with a medium roast on this one. The light roast lacked uniformity and was weaker in flavour than the medium. While this is a washed coffee, we found hints of Citrus, Stone Fruit and …wait a minute, if you want cupping notes Go Cup Yourself!

 

Once you have finished Cupping, click on the “EXPERT TASTED” tab for our tasting notes. Can’t wait to compare notes.

As always, we'd love to hear from you. Better yet, tell the world what you think. If you've been enjoying the Go Cup Yourself experience, please take a moment to review us on Facebook, Google, Yelp, Reddit, a bathroom stall door or anywhere you get your reviews.