Give the gift of exceptional taste with our coffee hampers. Featuring a thoughtful selection of our best coffees and accessories, these hampers are perfect for any occasion or coffee lover.
Coffee beans are actually the seeds found inside the coffee cherry, a fruit that flourishes on coffee plants. Turning these cherries into the beans we brew involves a series of precise steps: harvesting, processing, drying, milling, and roasting.
Fully ripe coffee cherries, usually deep red in colour, are picked, often by hand to ensure quality.
The harvested cherries need their seeds (beans) separated from the fruit. This can be done in two main ways:
Processed beans are dried further to reach a stable moisture content of about 11-12%, crucial for preservation and quality.
The dried beans, still encased in a protective parchment layer, are hulled to remove this coating. After that, the beans are sorted by size and density for consistency.
Finally, the green coffee beans are roasted, unlocking the distinctive flavours and aromas recognised in your cup.
Normal coffee cherries develop two seeds (right).
Peaberry cherries only develop one (left).
If you're passionate about coffee, you've probably come across the term “peaberry.” Despite common misconceptions, peaberry isn’t a separate coffee variety, it refers to a rare type of coffee bean that occurs naturally on all coffee plants, regardless of the variety.
Every coffee cherry typically contains two seeds, what we know as coffee beans. Occasionally, however, a cherry develops with only one seed. This single bean, called a peaberry, is rounder and smaller, resembling a pea. The specific cause behind this natural anomaly remains a mystery, with factors like weather, pollination, or plant nutrition suspected but unconfirmed. Peaberries are rare, making up less than 10% of total coffee production.
There’s no way to tell which cherries contain peaberries until after processing. Once the coffee has been processed and milled, peaberries are discovered during sorting, a meticulous, labour-intensive process. For perspective, sorting through 1,000 pounds of green coffee might yield just 50 pounds of peaberries. This scarcity and the extra effort required to separate them means producers can offer peaberry coffee at a premium price, sought after for its unique character and flavour.
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