High-quality coffee is not the cheapest pleasure. Therefore, a product that is sold at a low price does not inspire confidence, since it is most often a counterfeit or made from low-quality raw materials. However, the prices for coffee made from animal feces are surprising and perplexing to the average population of the planet. Only a few can afford this exclusive product.
These are such exotic varieties of coffee that not everyone will dare to try them.
However, it roughly looks like this:
There are also many other expensive, but less popular varieties of coffee.
Most elite varieties of coffee can be obtained by humans with the help of animals. Some of them have unique extrasensory perception and can find the finest grains. The most famous helpers in this matter are lemurs, monkeys, bats and even elephants. From an aesthetic point of view, many find it difficult to drink a drink made from grains that were once in animal droppings. However, coffee lovers claim that the taste of such drinks is amazing and incomparable to anything else.
Knowing which animal feces are made from delicious coffee, it’s easier to navigate prices and product names.
The secret is that musang loves to eat coffee berries. Indonesian Luwak coffee helps produce a certain type of marten called musang. Their habitat covers many regions of Southeast and South Asia. All gourmets agree that it is not a shame to serve this kind of coffee from Vietnam to a king. The production volume is small and does not exceed several hundred kilograms per year.
Coffee fruits are the favorite food of Malayan martens. They are very picky eaters; they will never eat green grains, but will choose the ripest and most delicious ones. In a day, a marten can eat about 900–1000 g of grains, more than 90% of which will be digested in the intestines of the animals, and only 5–10% will come out in its original form, but without pulp.
While in the digestive system of the animal, the fruits of the coffee tree are treated with gastric juice and special enzymes, which gives them unique taste properties.
It is interesting that grains are selected from the feces of females only for 6 months, and the rest of the time “girls” do not produce an odorous enzyme.
The collected grains are thoroughly washed, dried and fried using special technology. Details of the production and processing of raw materials are kept secret, but manufacturers promise purity and high quality of the finished product. The drink made from it has an elegant bouquet of flavors of sweet caramel, delicate vanilla and bitter dark chocolate.
Today they are trying to produce this coffee on an industrial scale. However, this drink differs from the one made naturally. Apparently, in captivity, animals are not so generous with enzymes.
It takes an elephant about 15-30 hours to digest coffee beans. This coffee is considered one of the most exclusive. It is sold only in a few stores in Thailand - the homeland of this brand - in a total amount of about 48 - 49 kg per year. These figures are not surprising, because to get 1000 g of coffee from elephant feces, the Thai giant needs to eat at least 34 kg of selected Arabica coffee fruits grown in the highlands. The process of collecting raw materials is unpleasant: after defecation, the wives of the elephant mahouts collect it and carefully sort through it, looking for surviving grains. Then the raw materials are washed and taken to another place for further drying.
Grains that are not digested in the elephant's body completely lose their bitterness, as stomach acid breaks down the proteins that give the drink a bitter taste.
Instead of the lost bitterness, the fruits of the coffee tree are saturated with the aromas of bananas, sugar cane and other tropical vegetation, which are so abundant in the animal’s menu. The grains stay in the elephant’s stomach for more than 20–30 hours, and this time is enough for them to completely change their properties. The resulting coffee has a soft, rich, delicate, slightly sweet taste without the usual bitterness.
You can try such an exclusive drink in just a few resorts in the Maldives. The beans are always ground right in front of the client so that he can fully appreciate the taste of the drink. A cup of freshly brewed coffee costs at least $50.
Due to special enzymes in the stomach and intestines of palm civets, coffee beans are processed. Coffee of this brand is rightfully considered the most expensive, since the amount of product sold is only 45 kg per year, which is due to the unique method of its production. This coffee is “produced” by palm civets that live in the southeastern part of Peru. The grains, having been inside these animals and coming out along with excrement, acquire a unique aroma of cocoa and hazelnuts. The collected raw materials are selected, cleaned and fried to the desired condition. Ready-made coffee is divided into 6 roast classes, and this must be indicated on the packaging.
The cost of one package starts from 11 thousand dollars. All bags of coffee are tied with laces with 24-karat gold tags, where information about the manufacturer and degree of roasting is engraved.
This coffee is received traditional way. However, everything affects the taste: the unique composition of the soil, the direction of the winds, and the location of the plantations. The grains combine different tastes– from bitterness to sweetness with sourness. The aroma of the drink is unusual and resembles the smell of fresh nectarines.
More than 85% of the product produced in Jamaica is sold in Japan, so purchasing such a drink in our country is problematic. In addition, 1 kg of finished raw materials costs about 27 thousand rubles.
Not everyone is able to try all the exotic types of coffee. In addition to the high cost, there is a great danger of purchasing a fake. Therefore, it is better to try this drink in the countries where it is produced.
Another one has appeared - “elephant”, produced in Thailand. Coffee, the price of which exceeds $1,000 per kilogram, is highly valued by connoisseurs and is considered the most expensive in the world.
1. This coffee variety is called Black Ivory. Its production is similar to Kopi Luwak coffee: undigested coffee beans pass through the animal's gastrointestinal tract, are treated with an enzyme that gives them a unique mild taste and aroma, and are excreted naturally.
2. You can try coffee with a unique taste in several 5-star hotels located in the north of the country, as well as in the Maldives and Abu Dhabi. For a cup of Black Ivory coffee you will have to pay 50 dollars, and if you want to buy beans, a kilogram will cost 1,100 dollars.
3. Coffee is produced in the Golden Triangle - at the junction of the borders of three countries: Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. Previously, large quantities of drugs were produced here.
4. The production of this type of coffee was established by Canadian Blake Dinkin. As he says, coffee beans, when they enter the animal’s stomach, undergo natural processing: stomach acid breaks down the protein that gives coffee its bitterness. Thanks to this, coffee acquires a soft taste and aroma that sets Black Ivory coffee apart from other varieties.
5. Elephants' large stomachs take almost 30 hours to digest coffee beans. By mixing with sugar cane and bananas - one of the most favorite delicacies of elephants - coffee acquires an amazing taste and aroma.
6. The high cost of Black Ivory coffee is explained by the fact that to produce 1 kg of coffee, an elephant must eat 35 kg of Arabica coffee beans. But even such a high price did not prevent the sale of 70 kg of coffee during the first weeks of November. In 2013, Blake Dinkin plans to produce 500 kilograms of elephant coffee.
The world's most expensive coffee, "Black Ivory" produced by elephants in Thailand, has hit the retail market. A kilogram of this coffee costs $1,100 US. "Black Ivory" can be bought in Tesco Lotus and Big C.
Civet coffee? Old news. The new history of coffee these days is made from coffee beans processed by elephants.
According to Anantara Hotel, the best coffee beans are grown at the resort in Chiang Rai, in the Golden Triangle area. In the huge elephant camp of the Anantara Hotel, a unique variety of “Black Ivory” is created from them.
Until recently, "Black Ivory" was only available at four Anantara resorts in the Maldives and, of course, in Thailand at Anantara resorts.
Currently, Black Ivory coffee is on sale in retail network. It can be found in Big C and Tesco Lotus.
Research shows that during the digestion process, elephant enzymes break down the protein in coffee beans. Since protein is one of the main factors responsible for the bitterness of coffee, low protein levels indicate a lack of bitterness. But everything has its price.
Black Ivory coffee processed by elephants sells for US$1,100 per kilogram or US$50 per cup and is one of the most expensive coffees in the world.
For comparison, civet coffee costs around US$500-600 per kilogram or US$30 per cup. Civet coffee is coffee processed by cats and produced using the same technology - the animal eats coffee beans, the proteins are destroyed during digestion.
At the Anantara Hotel, guests who order a cup of Black Ivory will see the beans harvested from which they will be served a unique drink in a traditional coffee balancing siphon.
Eight percent of all coffee sales go to the Thailand Elephant Foundation.
To create a unique type of coffee, 30 domestic elephants and their mahouts with their families were recruited and rescued.
The process begins with selecting the best Thai Arabica beans, which grow at an altitude of 1,500 m. Elephants readily eat coffee beans, which are excreted from the body as nature dictates. Elephant mahouts and their wives select coffee from elephant dung and dry it in the sun.
The obvious question is: isn't it dangerous to get elephants hooked on caffeine?
Anantara Hotel Director John Roberts
At the very beginning, when the idea of creating a new type of coffee arose, we asked ourselves the question: what will we do with 26 elephants who will receive coffee every morning, how we drink a cup of coffee and, if it is not available one day, we will deal with a herd of angry elephants?
But I learned that for caffeine to form, coffee beans must be heated above 70°C. So elephants do not become addicted to coffee.
The elephants that create Black Ivory coffee participate in major charity events in Thailand.
At the popular King's Cup elephant polo in Hua Hin, an elephant from Chiang Rai treated guests to his coffee
Black Tusk coffee is made in the Chiang Rai province of Thailand. The secret of the drink is in its unusual processing method - Arabica coffee berries are passed through the digestive tract of elephants.
Black Tusk coffee is made in the Chiang Rai province of Thailand. The secret of the drink is in its unusual processing method - Arabica coffee berries are passed through the digestive tract of elephants. This type of coffee is considered the most expensive and most difficult to produce.
It’s good for both people and animals! Firstly, the working elephants are fed deliciously. Secondly, with their “labor” they themselves sponsor the creation and support of elephant veterinary clinics in Thailand. Well, they earn a lot from coffee - one kilogram costs buyers $1,100. To produce it, you need to feed an elephant 33 times more fresh coffee berries.
Niang and Linda, two wives of one husband, collect coffee beans passed through the digestive tract of elephants in Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai province, Thailand.
A Lisu woman picks ripe Arabica berries at a plantation in Phrao, Chiang Rai province, Thailand.
Moon does rice porridge with coffee berries especially for elephants.
The long-awaited litter. It takes an animal 15-30 hours to digest the berries. In this case, most of the grains (only the berry is digested) spoil, break or are lost in the grass.
This extravagant method of processing coffee was taken from Indonesian colleagues who make Kopi Luwak - coffee passed through the digestive tract of musang.
A special vessel for the perfect “Black Tusk”.
The most expensive and most difficult to produce coffee, called "Black Tusk", is made in the province of Chiang Rai, Thailand. The secret of the drink is in its unusual processing method - Arabica coffee berries are passed through the digestive tract of elephants. It’s good for both people and animals! Firstly, the working elephants are fed deliciously. Secondly, with their “labor” they themselves sponsor the creation and support of elephant veterinary clinics in Thailand. Well, they earn a lot from coffee - one kilogram costs buyers $1,100. To produce it, you need to feed an elephant 33 times more fresh coffee berries.
(Total 25 photos)
1. Niang and Linda - two wives of one husband - collect coffee beans passed through the digestive tract of elephants, Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai province, Thailand. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
2. A Lisu woman picks ripe Arabica berries at a plantation in Phrao, Chiang Rai province, Thailand. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
3. Harvesting coffee berries. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
4. Ripe coffee berries resemble cherry fruits. In English they are called “cherries”. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
5. Mahut (man who rides elephants) walks with his elephant in the early foggy morning. At this time, elephants eat grass in the meadows. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
6. Indian elephant used in " technological process" (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
7. Lun makes rice porridge with coffee berries especially for elephants. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
8. Washed coffee beans for porridge. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
9. Rice and coffee porridge. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
10. The elephants eat their lunch, which then becomes the most expensive coffee in the world. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
11. Elephants really like this kind of food. However, they also eat grass large quantities. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
12. Brown elephant eye. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
13. A mess of porridge scattered by an elephant while eating. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
14. The founder of the Black Tusk production, Blake Dinkin, personally feeds the elephants. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
15. Return “to base”. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
16. The long-awaited litter. It takes an animal 15-30 hours to digest the berries. In this case, most of the grains (only the berry is digested) spoil, break or are lost in the grass. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
17. Lun is resting while his elephants “work” - digesting coffee berries. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
18. Collection coffee beans from elephant dung. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
19. This extravagant method of processing coffee was taken from Indonesian colleagues who make “Kopi Luwak” - coffee passed through the digestive tract of musang. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)22. Miki Giles from Hong Kong enjoys Black Tusk with 6-year-old stud elephant Meena. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)25. An Indian elephant serving for the benefit of people and its relatives. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
