By inna2041 Jan 11, 2018
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Every day on our planet, people consume over two billion cups of coffee. Therefore, this drink can rightfully be called a leader among others sold in stores. And it has gained popularity not only because it has a noble aroma and taste, but also because today there are many recipes and methods for preparing it. True coffee fans are ready to spend a lot of money without searching for promotional codes and purchase elite varieties. And the fact that they will end up paying several hundred dollars for one hundred grams of the divine drink does not stop them at all. In this article we will tell you what the most expensive coffee in the world is.
Even though coffee does not grow everywhere on our planet, its harvest directly depends on weather conditions, and coffee plantings are vulnerable, prices for its beans are only rising. Especially if we are talking about a decent product of good quality. What is the most expensive coffee in the world?
Black Ivory
Translated it means “Black Tusk” and the price of this coffee beans is very high. Apart from Thailand, Black Ivory is not produced anywhere in the world. These are not just roasted coffee beans. In order to get a kilogram of this coffee, it is necessary to collect about 33 kg of selected Arabica beans and they must be eaten by an elephant, along with rice, cane sugar and fruit.
For a kilogram of Black Ivory beans you will have to pay more than $1000.
Digestion of this mixture lasts up to 35 hours. During this time, the grains become saturated with fruity aroma. As the berries pass through the elephant's gastrointestinal tract, they break down protein, which would otherwise give the drink a bitter taste if the grains were processed normally. The taste of Black Tusk is soft, without bitterness, with a slight hint of fruity aroma.
To get grains ready for brewing, you need to select berries from the manure, wash them thoroughly and dry them. It is possible to drink a mug of this coffee only in the Maldives, Abu Dhabi, and also in the reserve, which is located on the borders of Thailand and Laos.
Thailand Black Ivory Coffee
Surely, if you type in the search phrase “what is the most expensive type of coffee in the world?”, you will see the answer that this is Indonesian Kopi Luwak. Yes, it is really popular on our planet, and has gained increased demand after it was named the most expensive in the film with Robert De Niro. But the reality is completely different, and we will prove it to you.
The most expensive coffee in the world, the price of which today is up to 85 thousand rubles per kilogram of beans, is the Black Ivory variety from Thailand. He is the one who ranks first on our list. It is produced in Thailand using a special method, which makes it truly divine and extremely tasty.
If we compare it with the Kopi Luwak variety, the cost of the latter ranges from 23 to 35 thousand rubles per kilogram of coffee.
The most expensive coffee in the world and the features of its production
The most expensive coffee in the world - what are the features of its production? Surely you want to know the answer to this question, as well as why some admirers are willing to pay a fabulous sum for it.
Of course, such a high price of grains must be justified. What is the secret of making Black Ivory coffee?
- The coffee farm that produces the most expensive coffee in the world, called Black Ivory Coffee, is located on the border with Laos, in northern Thailand. Its owner is Canadian Blake Dinkin.
- Thai Arabica trees grow here, which are suitable for a warm and humid climate.
- Not only people work on the farm, but also four-legged helpers, elephants. It was they who took on the most important and responsible part of the work.
- After ripening, the coffee cherries are harvested. After this, they are fed to animals. Next, the fruits are partially fermented in the elephant’s digestive tract and removed naturally.
- The berries are collected, washed, dried and processed. At the exit you can see the beans, the most expensive type of coffee in the world - Blake Ivory.
This type of coffee has a surprisingly mild taste. While the beans are fermented in the elephant's stomach, the bitterness familiar to other types of coffee completely evaporates. Thanks to this, when drinking the drink, you will have the opportunity to enjoy a bright and rich coffee bouquet, which contains notes of fruit, sweet caramel and spices with the aroma of flowers. This taste is considered the most ideal today, and it is completely impossible to achieve it in natural conditions.
The most expensive coffee in the world is so expensive not only because it undergoes special processing during production, but also because it enters the coffee market in small quantities and is considered rare. To get one kilogram of fermented beans, farmers have to feed about thirty kilograms of coffee berries to an elephant. Therefore, in a year it is possible to produce only 300 to 400 kilograms of coffee.
It is very difficult to find a real variety of such a product on the territory of the Russian Federation. According to official data, it is distributed only in Anantara hotels and in the reserve of the same name. All sales points are located in Thailand. There, the price of such grains per kilogram reaches $1,100. It is much easier to buy such coffee to order; it is very rare in coffee boutiques in Russia. Now you know how much the most expensive coffee costs.
The farm owner donates eight percent of the profits to a special fund for the protection of elephants.
Kopi Luwak
In second place in the ranking is coffee, which is produced only in 3 countries - South India, the Philippines and Indonesia. Musangs (also known as luwak) are small animals whose food consists of ripe coffee beans.
The average cost of one cup of this coffee is $100.
Civet, a substance present in the gastric juice of musangs, helps give the final uniqueness and uniqueness to the taste of coffee. In total, about 500 kilograms of Kopi Luwak are produced annually. Only true gourmets can afford it. They say this coffee has a subtle aroma of chocolate and jungle.
Second place - these cute palm martens
Next in the ranking is Luwak coffee. Coffee beans obtained in distant Indonesia. Its price is more than $1000 per kilogram. It is truly one of the rarest, most extraordinary and expensive types of coffee in the world. Small palm martens live on coffee plantations and feed exclusively on the freshest and most delicious coffee berries. It has been proven that the gastric juice of these cute little animals has healing properties. And moving through the digestive tract, the grains are saturated with enzymes and beneficial microelements. Local people collect them, wash and dry them. After which the grains acquire a caramel hue. Luwak is the most expensive type of coffee, because its production is extremely limited. So only a few hundred kilograms are produced per year.
Hacienda La Esmeralda
The peculiarity of the Hacienda la Esmeralda variety is that the coffee trees from which the beans are collected grow near Guava trees on the slopes of Buru in Panama.
The cost of Hacienda la Esmeralda beans is slightly more than $100 per 450 grams.
The taste of this coffee is quite extraordinary.
Hot “five”: the most expensive coffee in the world
In the world there is not just expensive, but very expensive and unique coffee that can surprise you to the core. Perhaps not even everyone will risk trying such exotic things. To be fair, we note that not everyone can afford this pleasure.
This exclusive coffee costs an indecent amount of money, but the kicker is that the most expensive coffee is obtained from animal excrement.
Representatives of exotic fauna help obtain elite coffee:
- elephants;
- civets;
- lemurs;
- musangs;
- civets;
- the bats;
- monkey.
It is their droppings that are the source of elite varieties, the cost of 1 kg of which can reach 1,500 euros (more than 98 thousand rubles). The price of a cup of such a drink in Europe starts from 50 euros (more than 3,775 rubles), and in the largest cities of the world, such as Tokyo, Singapore, New York, the usual price tag for such coffee is 100 dollars (6,550 rubles).
Steps to turn poop into coffee:
- collecting droppings from animals that feed on coffee berries;
- drying waste;
- leaching of grains from excrement;
- drying the “pearls”;
- roasting
And all this is done manually, which, of course, affects pricing. Under the influence of enzymes in the digestive tract of animals, coffee berries are broken down into proteins, fats and carbohydrates. After splitting, the composition of the substances changes and the bitterness disappears. The fermentation process inside the stomach of our smaller friends has a beneficial effect on the taste of the drink, giving it subtle notes of flowers, fruits, and plants that were eaten by animals - workers of coffee farms.
The lop-eared giant with a trunk must eat approximately 35 kg of coffee beans to obtain 1 kg of Black Ivory coffee. In some countries, palm civets, musangs, which are distant relatives of the Rikki-Tikki-Tavi mongoose, take part in the process. Locals call them “luwak” (or “luwak”). They are the main link in the production process of elite coffee with caramel shades with chocolate notes and an elusive aroma of the jungle. One musang eats 1 kg of coffee beans per day, of which only 50 g remain undigested and go into further processing.
The lion's share of Luwak goes to Japan each year, where the people there are enthusiastic and devoted fans of the variety. When visiting Japan, you should definitely drink a cup of exclusive Luwak coffee.
So, it’s time to talk about the most cherished, the five most expensive types of invigorating drink. Go!
5th place. Hacienda La Esmeralda (“Hacienda La Esmeralda”, or “Mountain Charm”)
Price 1 kg - 125 dollars (8155 rubles).
The variety is produced in Panama. The plantations are located high in the Baru Mountains, where the volcanic soil gives the coffee its distinctive taste. The peculiarity of cultivation is that coffee trees are always in the shade of spreading guavas.
Hacienda La Esmeralda coffee plantations are located in the Baru Mountains (Panama)
4th place. Blue Mountain - king from Jamaica
The price of 1 kg is about 1000 dollars (65.55 thousand rubles).
The variety has a second name - “Royal”. Produced exclusively in Jamaica. There are only a few plantations on the island where Blue Mountain is cultivated. Japan buys 90% of the coffee grown. The remaining 10% is sent to France and England. Blue Mountain was the favorite variety of the legendary John Lennon and writer Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels.
John Lennon's favorite coffee
3rd place. Kopi Luwak - coffee made from musang dung
The price of 1 kg reaches $1,200 (78,339 rubles).
The approximate cost of one cup is 70–90 dollars (or 5–6 thousand rubles). The variety is produced in several countries:
- Vietnam;
- Indonesia;
- Philippines;
- South India.
The famous Kopi Luwak and musang - the animal thanks to which coffee is famous for its taste
2nd place. Black Ivory (“Black Ivory”, or “Black Tusk”) - a drink made from elephant dung
The price of 1 kg is over 1100 dollars (more than 72 thousand rubles).
The cost of one cup reaches 50 dollars (more than 3 thousand rubles).
Thailand is the birthplace of the Black Tusk variety. During the production process, coffee beans are fed to giants with a trunk, and then their droppings are used to produce coffee with an unusually smooth taste, with a refined fruity undertone.
The high cost is due to factors:
- small amount of coffee “at the exit”;
- high costs of keeping an elephant
"Black Ivory" has a unique chocolate-floral taste with notes of nuts, milk and even... elderberry
1 place. Terra Nera (“Terra Nera”) - from the feces of palm civets
The price of 1 kg is more than 20 thousand dollars (1.5 million rubles).
No one will argue that the price of this brand of coffee is sensational! It is produced in only one place on the globe - in the southeast of the Andean Cordillera, on the land of the Quechua people. The animals, palm civets resembling cats, feast on 100% Arabica Uchunari coffee berries, then use their excrement to produce Terra Nera coffee. You can buy this variety exclusively at Harrods, the most famous department store in London.
The best gift for a coffee lover is Terra Nera packaging, made of silver paper and tied with a cord with a gold tag.
Blue Mountain
A variety of Arabica beans. Coffee trees grow on mountain plantations in Jamaica. The grains themselves are of a very unusual color - blue-green. Hence the name – “Blue Mountain”.
The cost of the beans is $200 per 450 grams.
Light astringency, slight sourness and a breathtaking aroma are what perfectly characterize Blue Mountain.
Coffee from Saint Helena
Saint Helena Island can be called pristine. It is located far from industrial facilities. Clean air and good ecology are the key to successful cultivation of coffee trees and production of an elite drink.
The price of 500 grams of such coffee beans is about $100.
The plantations are located at an altitude of 3000 meters, the soil is of volcanic origin. Coffee beans from St. Helena Island are an elite and rare variety.
El Ingerto
The place of origin of El Injerto coffee beans is the Republic of Guatemala. This variety of coffee is much cheaper than Black Ivory, but still expensive.
Its average price is $50 per 450 gram package.
The peculiarity of this coffee is its exquisite taste and aroma. The climate of Guatemala is cloudy and it often rains, which is why El Injerto has an extraordinary taste and the highest quality of beans.
Table of the most expensive coffee varieties
Name of coffee variety | Approximate price for 1 kg of roasted beans |
Geisha (Panama and Costa Rica) | 10-11 thousand rubles. |
Blue Mountain (Jamaica), JBM | 27 thousand rubles. |
Jacque Bird (Brazil) | 28 thousand rubles. |
Bat (Costa Rica) | 30 thousand rubles. |
Kopi Luwak (Indonesia) | 25-35 thousand rubles. |
Black Ivory (Thailand) | 75 thousand rubles. |
Hacienda Santa Ines
This is perhaps the best coffee produced in Brazil. Refreshing notes of citrus and a taste of chocolate prevent this coffee from being confused with other varieties.
450 grams of Fazenda Santa Ines, costs $50.
Coffee beans of this variety have become especially popular and widespread in Brazil and Canada. The main distinguishing factor is the manual collection of grains.
Los Plains
Los Plains are grown in El Salvador. It has a sweet floral aroma, and bright notes of cocoa are felt in the taste. Also, it is worth noting that the taste of this coffee is very rich and opens with each subsequent sip of the aromatic drink.
Price 450 gr. of Los Plains coffee beans is $40.
Los Plains coffee has received many international awards and its taste is highly valued by gourmets.
Kona coffee
Coffee trees of this variety grow on the slopes of volcanoes in Hawaii. The elite quality of Kona coffee lies in the fact that it is “born” in unique climatic conditions.
The price of Hawaiian coffee is approximately $35 per 450 grams.
Rich soil is also an important factor for growing quality coffee beans.
► How is the most expensive coffee in the world produced?
Blue Bourbon
This type of coffee was first produced in 1789 on Reunion Island, which is located in the Indian Ocean. The old name of the island is Bourbon. Blue Bourbon is made from Arabica beans. The taste of Bourbon is distinguished by strong sourness and a rich, bright bouquet of spices.
This is why coffee beans of this variety are highly valued on the world market. The cost of 450 grams of Blue Bourbon beans is no less than $35.
Elite coffees are very expensive. But their taste and aroma are significantly different from those varieties that everyone is used to drinking in the morning. Every true coffee connoisseur should try the most expensive varieties of this wonderful drink at least once in his life in order to fully enjoy the kingdom of coffee taste and aroma!
How the most expensive coffee is produced
Elite coffees are made using special technology. They are produced in the border area with Laos. They supply products from a farm called Black Ivory Coffee. The plantation is located on an area with favorable climatic conditions. Thai Arabica trees are grown there.
The main work on the farm is done by elephants. They are fed ripened berries. The fruits undergo partial fermentation in their digestive tract and are released naturally. After this, farmers sort through the animal excrement and extract whole grains from it. They are washed and dried. After this, the expensive product is sent for sale.
This type of coffee tastes significantly different from regular coffee. During the fermentation process, the characteristic bitterness evaporates. The drink takes on a completely different taste and aroma. It has notes of caramel and fruit, and a subtle floral scent.
The high cost of coffee ($1,100 per kg) is not only due to the complexity of processing. Products enter the world market in small quantities and are considered rare.
In order to obtain a kilogram of fermented grain, farmers feed 30 kg of fruit to elephants. In a year, it is possible to obtain no more than a kilogram of finished products.