Peaberry - "Caviar" of coffee

Peaberries—coffee beans that grow alone in a single cherry—were once considered a defect, a deformed bean. Now, these small round beans are highly prized, and are sometimes even called the “caviar” of coffee.
For a long time, most roasters didn’t know much about this “black sheep” of the coffee family, just that it looked different than a regular bean—small and round instead of long and irregular. Growers were asked to sort Peaberries out by hand, just as they would any other defect.
Then, roasters began to notice that Peaberry’s single bean had a very concentrated aroma and flavor. Intuitively, it made sense—if the tree was growing just one bean per cherry instead of two, then wouldn’t that bean get twice as much flavor, aroma and acidity? Intrigued, roasters began to ask farmers to separate the Peaberry from the coffee—not as a defect this time, but as a special coffee in its own right.
After a few years, however, the farmers were less willing to sort the Peaberries out. When the Peaberry was taken out, cuppers found that it reduced the cup profile and the cupping scores of the regular coffee began to drop.
Thus, the Peaberry has come full circle. From its humble beginnings as the “runt of the litter,” it has now grown into something of a celebrity in the cup.