Peaberry
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Peaberry, also known as "caracoli," is a type of coffee bean. Peaberry is technically a defect, and occurs due to factors such as insect damage to a flower, tree stress from drought/nutrient imbalances, or with cherries that grow at the tip of branches. The majority of fruit from the coffee tree contain two halves of a bean in a single cherry, which is called Type I. Due to the vagaries of nature, some fruit mature with only a single fused bean. This oval (or pea-shaped), solo bean is known as Peaberry, or Type II.
Kona coffee (a Hawaiian coffea arabica) is an example of coffee that is graded this way. In Kona, approximately 5% of beans come out as peaberry. [1]
Some coffee drinkers feel that peaberry carries a more intense flavor. Because of its rarity it is sometimes known as the "caviar" of coffee and can be sold at a premium. Alternatively, in some regions, it is discarded as an off-grade product.
