Coffee Glossary · Coffee Basics
Peaberry
A natural mutation in which a cherry develops one round seed instead of the usual two flat-faced beans — typically 5–10% of any harvest. Peaberries roast differently (their round shape tumbles evenly) and many cuppers find them slightly more concentrated, so origins like Tanzania sort and sell them as a distinct premium grade. Whether superior or simply different, peaberry lots are a genuine physical grade, separated by screen during milling.
Related terms
Screen Size
Bean size measured by passing green coffee over perforated screens, numbered in 64ths of an inch — screen 16…
Grading (Green Coffee)
The classification of green coffee into commercial tiers by measurable criteria — screen size, defect count,…
Green Coffee
Coffee in its internationally traded form: the dried, milled seed of the coffee cherry before roasting,…
Arabica (Coffea arabica)
The species behind roughly 60% of world coffee and nearly all specialty-grade lots. Arabica evolved in…
Coffee Cherry
The fruit of the coffee tree — a small drupe that ripens from green through yellow to deep red (or…
Robusta (Coffea canephora)
The second commercial coffee species: higher-yielding, disease-hardy, caffeine-rich, and traditionally traded…
Reading up before buying? Volcana Coffee exports SGS-inspected specialty Arabica and Fine Robusta from the Bolaven Plateau, Laos — and we're happy to walk new importers through every term on a real offer sheet.
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