Coffee Recon: February 2025
Tanzania Peaberry. It’s not a pea, or a berry, but it is great coffee!
The main Recon coffee selection this month is a wash-processed Tanzania Peaberry. These precious little beans spent their life in the shadows of the mighty Mt. Kilimanjaro at an altitude of 1,300 meters (or 4,265 feet for the rest of us).
If you received our whole bean bag, the first thing that may strike you is the small round almost bead-like appearance of the bean. If you let us grind it for you, then you will be greeted with a sweet, almost teriyaki-like aroma. Called a “peaberry,” the small bean is 
a prized mutation where the coffee cherry only produces one seed as opposed to two in a normal cherry. This small seed is then intentionally separated from the rest of seeds (or “normies” as we like to call them) to be processed and sold exclusively as a peaberry.
There are different opinions about whether the peaberry actually imparts any unique quality over a normie. Some suggest that because there is only one seed, it receives the best of the cherry and therefore has the most to offer. Anyone an only-child out there? Okay, that’s probably a whole sub-Reddit we could get lost in. I digress.
The smaller sample bag is, you may have guessed it, the same bean! But with a twist. We’ll get into that next.
The opportunity to roast this unique bean was not without some challenges. As a green bean, it starts even smaller than the roasted bean, and is surprisingly heavy for its size. Initially, we looked at a few different roasting approaches, but the two basic schools of thought are low and slow, or hot and fast. After seven sample sized roasts we decided low and slow was the way to go.
The next challenge was deciding how long to develop and at what final temperature we would drop the beans into the cooling tray. This is where the sample bag comes in. It was the first roast on our main roaster (a Mill City MCR-15 named “Roxy”) and offered important insight as to how the bean would perform in a larger scale roaster. For context, our sample roasts were about 200 grams each, while our full roasts were 12.5 kilograms (okay, 7.05 ounces and 27.56 pounds according to Siri…)
Our first full roast (the sample bag) we dropped at 16 minutes and 21 seconds with a 408F final temp. It cupped with a full body and notes of caramelized sugar and a hint of citrus. Our second attempt (16:12 at 402.7F) yielded a brighter and sweeter cup closer to the brown sugar, cherry, and citrus suggested by our supplier, Royal New York. One of our team even found candied carrots in the notes like those we enjoy during Thanksgiving. We all remarked at how different the two roasts cupped even though they were very close profile-wise. In fact, the roasts were nearly identical in every way, except for the drop time and temperatures.
Generally, a longer roast and higher temperature (darker) unlocks more chocolate, nutty, and even bitter notes that dominate the cup. Shorter and lower temperature roasts (lighter) allow higher acidity, sweetness, and fruit notes to prevail. The art and science is to bring out the best qualities of the bean in a balanced way or for the bean’s intended use (single origin, or flavor in a blend). These two roasts showcase the difference a small margin of only a few seconds and a few degrees have on how the coffee tastes or even feels in the mouth.
Other factors that contribute to the coffee’s flavor are brewing method, grind size/amount, water quality, and water temperature. The Tanzania Peaberry is a particularly dense bean, and the medium and medium-light roasts we approached it with retain much of that density. A darker roast would further break the bean structure down leaving a less dense, more brittle bean. That said, due to the roast level and bean density, we recommend a finer than average grind for most brewing methods.
The reason for this is the dense bean particles resist extraction more than a less dense bean. Basically, water has a harder time getting the soluble components of the coffee 
out and bringing them into your cup. A finer grind allows more contact-area overall for the water and a greater chance for it get the most out of those yummy little bits. For example, if your grinder is normally at a “5” for your drip coffee, then try something between 4 and 5. It only takes a small adjustment to make a big difference, but play with it! Once you get the main bag dialed in, try the same settings with the sample bag and compare.
“But I don’t have a grinder, and I got the pre-ground beans!” No worries! You can have fun too! We already ground your beans slightly finer for optimal performance using most drip or pour over methods. Either way, we recommend playing with water temperature along with amount of grounds you use (coffee/water ratio). Most coffee brewing methods recommend a 195-205F water temperature. Hotter water typically yields more extraction and cooler water less. You can also try more or less grounds which will change the coffee/water ratio for your given brewing method. Remember, a little goes a long way! For example, a 1:18 ratio (one part coffee to 18 parts water) offers less intensity or body than a 1:16 ratio. Try different approaches and write down what you think. Once dialed in, repeat your chosen approach with the sample bag and compare. Yum and yummier!
We hope you enjoy drinking this Tanzania Peaberry as much as we did roasting, cupping, and preparing it for you!
Grab another bag before this limited batch sells out, or sign up for our Coffee Recon Subscription to be the first to taste next month's lineup.