Tanzania Peaberry

Elise Jordan
2025-10-02T00:00:07-07:00

ROASTING IN OCTOBER: TANZANIA PEABERRY
This month’s limited release, Tanzania Peaberry, is a special one. Yes, we know, they’re all special—and we’re not picking favorites. You’re not supposed to do that. But Tanzania Peaberry is just different. Unique, if you will. And it’s not just the creamy body and vivid notes of dark honey and papaya, with butterscotch aromatics. It’s a biological difference and a particular kind of bean you can’t always find. Curious? Let us explain.

A BOTANICAL ANOMALY
The peaberry is what we like to call nature’s rarity. Unlike typical coffee cherries with two beans (aka flat beans—you know the ones, flat on one side, rounded on the other, look like coffee beans) peaberries are born solo—just one very round, dense bean that grew without its twin. Only 5%–10% of coffee beans are peaberries, and even fewer were selected for this lot.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR FLAVOR
It’s not just their scarcity that makes peaberries special; because of the way they grow, peaberry coffee is prized for its bright, sweet, concentrated flavor. It’s hypothesized that peaberries receive a higher concentration of sugars and nutrients from the tree than the traditional flat berries. Makes sense, with only one bean contending for the nutrients, not two. The result? A cup that’s intensely flavorful and uniquely smooth.

SPEAKING OF FLAVOR
After undergoing the washed processing method—in which they’re picked, peeled, and rinsed—the peaberries are meticulously sorted from the rest, using special screens to hold them back from the flat beans. (Fun fact: not every mill does this! A lot of peaberries wind up hidden amongst flat beans or *gasp* discarded.) The carefully selected and sorted beans make their way to our roastery, where they’re roasted nice and dark, packing even more of a flavor punch into this limited release.

THE FINAL POUR
Every cup of Tanzania Peaberry is a rare and radiant experience. These complex beans come from both northern and southern estates across Tanzania (because it’s tough to find enough from just one farm—yes, they’re that special). But lucky you: this tag-team of terroir means double the flavor, double the fun. Expect a lush, creamy body and vivid hits of dark honey, papaya, and butterscotch, with beans from the north bringing the bright, nutty zing and the south serving up the smooth, fruity caramel vibes. It's a small batch with a big personality. Sip accordingly.

NOTES FROM THE PEET’S ROASTERY
When the beans first arrived at The Roastery, we took note of their small, round shape and light and dark green coloring. There were no visible defects—and no flat beans, just like we wanted. The unroasted beans had a sweet and citrusy aroma.

When we applied heat, the coffee behaved pretty much as expected. We know peaberries roast differently to flat beans (no flat side means they roll differently in the drum; you can even hear it!), so we started at a lower heat. The batches went a little fast and finished a little early, but not drastically. First crack started very early but with only one or two pops every couple of seconds. At about 400⁰F the popping picked up speed indicating consensus. In the end, there was still a nice sweet-and-zingy aroma.

After roasting came the blind, randomized cupping with seven tasters. While we had a lively discussion, the group was nearly unanimous in preferring this one—the coffee you’ll taste at home. We chose it for its ability to showcase distinctive qualities we love in Tanzanian coffees: bright acidity, layered complexity, a buttery mouthfeel, full body, and lively fruit notes. It cooled beautifully and demonstrated excellent cup integrity, which ultimately set it apart.

- John Nicolini and Michael Madden, Roasters; Jamie Smith, R&D

PEET’S LIMITED RELEASE COFFEES
You might think that a monthly coffee subscription sounds amazing in and of itself, but Peet’s coffee-of-the-month takes it a step further than most. Good things come in small packages, and we only get these coffees in small batches, which is why you can only find them at peets.com and only for a month at a time. They’re special. And while you don’t have to be a Small Batch Coffee subscriber to experience these amazing coffees, their fleeting nature means they can sell out—fast. So subscribing guarantees you get to taste each one of these incredibly special lots.