Elephant dung coffee. The most expensive coffee in the world
The most expensive coffee in the world, called Black Tusk, is made from coffee beans eaten and digested by Thai elephants, and costs $1,100 per kg. The exotic drink has a rich, soft taste thanks to the digestion process in the intestines of the elephant.
“When an elephant eats coffee beans, the acid in its stomach breaks down the proteins in the coffee, which gives the drink a bitter taste,” the experts explained. “The result is coffee with a very smooth taste without the bitterness of a typical drink.”
The most expensive and delicious coffee in the world is very similar to another type of coffee, Kopi Luwak, which is obtained from the excrement of musang animals. However, the elephant's stomach has a slight advantage in this regard. On average, it takes the animal about 15–30 hours to digest the coffee berries, which are simmered along with bananas, sugar cane and other ingredients in a typical elephant's vegetarian diet to create a unique, rich and fruity flavor.
This rare type of coffee can be tasted only at four resorts in the world: three in the Maldives and one in Thailand, and a cup of this drink is not cheap - $50.
Why is it so expensive? Firstly, keeping elephants in a reserve is expensive. Secondly, the elephants are fed only Thai Arabica coffee grown at an altitude of 1500 m. In addition, the elephants need to eat about 32 kg of coffee fruits to produce 1 kg of coffee beans.
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It's surprising, but Vietnam ranks second in the world in coffee production. The first, of course, is Brazil: the constant homeland of both coffee and TV series. Vietnam now produces approximately 18% of the world's coffee. It all started, of course, with the French, who in 1857 first brought coffee beans to the territory of their colony.
In addition to the fact that there is a lot of coffee here, it is roasted in unusual ways (for example, with sweet syrups), thanks to which it acquires a unique sweet-chocolate taste. And they serve coffee in any cafe: thick and aromatic, with ice and an additional glass of delicious green tea. Coffee is the most.
Ordinary Vietnamese coffee shop: price for a glass of coffee - 12,000 dong ($ 0.5), green tea with ice - free
Ice coffee with condensed milk: an unforgettable taste!
There are two types of grains in Vietnam: robusta and arabica. Robusta is much more popular; you can often find blends based on Robusta with a small addition of Arabica. In Nha Trang, you can find many shops on the street where the coffee beans you choose will be ground right in front of you and sealed in a bag - in my opinion, a great gift for family and friends!
There are a great variety of such stores: you choose beans (you can mix varieties in any proportions), and they grind and seal them right in front of you
The most popular brand of coffee in Vietnam can be called Me Trang (read as Mechang). Shops of this company can be found on every corner in tourist Nha Trang. Mechang coffee is really tasty, but we didn’t notice much difference compared to little-known coffee brands from .
The most famous coffee brand in Vietnam today is Me Trang
In addition to Robusta and Arabica, the type of coffee known as Luwak (or Luwak) is also found everywhere in Vietnam. These are ordinary coffee beans that have passed through the gastrointestinal tract of one very cute fur-bearing animal.
What is this super trendy Luwak coffee made from animal feces in Vietnam? What does it smell like, and most importantly, how did people get there?
Who is the Luwak animal?
The official name of these cute little ones is musangs or palm martens.
Curious
And infinitely cute
These animals simply adore ripe coffee berries. After they ingest the coffee cherries, the pulp surrounding the coffee beans themselves is digested in their stomach, and the beans are passed unchanged during bowel movements (excuse me for such details). After this, people collect the valuable cargo, wash it and dry it. We hasten to assure you that there is no expected unpleasant odor after these procedures.
Valuable musang excrement before washing
The animal is especially valued for the fact that while in its gastrointestinal tract, coffee beans are fermented in a special way, due to which they lose the bitterness characteristic of coffee. And the taste of coffee becomes sour.
Luwak coffee beans after washing
They can even fry it right on the farm.
Luwak coffee beans after roasting
There is a legend about how people first learned the unique properties of Luwak coffee. A misfortune happened to one poor family: wild Masangs (or Tsiwengs) ate the entire harvest of ripe coffee beans for sale. The family was very sad, but then they noticed animal excrement, and in it there were undigested grains. Out of desperation, these beans were washed, fried and passed off as regular coffee. Imagine their surprise when its taste turned out to be simply delicious!
Today, producing Luwak coffee is a complex and expensive process. Wild animals are caught and placed on a farm. They produce a special enzyme only 6 months a year, so the rest of the time they are fed regular food, usually vegetables and fruits. When the time comes, all other food is removed from their diet and they are fed exclusively coffee fruits. Since feeding animals is quite expensive, they are often simply caught in the right season, and after coffee production is released to be captured the following year. In addition, it will not be possible to breed them on a farm: these animals do not breed in captivity.
We saw farms producing Luwak coffee in Vietnam and Bali, and everywhere there was a lot of pity for the animals: such living machines operated by humans.
A cramped animal hole on a farm
By the way, we heard that they began to produce coffee from elephant and even bird excrement. The process is approximately the same as with musangs, but the volumes, of course, are several times greater. We have not seen such coffee in Vietnam, but they say that it is as tasty as luwak. If this is so, maybe soon furry animals will stop being tortured on farms? Still, one elephant can produce 100 times more delicious coffee than a small rodent.
How to brew Luwak coffee
Like regular coffee, luwak in Europe or Asia is often brewed in Turks (this method is called “oriental style”).
In Vietnam, they prefer a different method: small metal cups with a sieve and a press, where coffee is poured with hot water, and it is infused, dripping drop by drop into the glass. We liked this method, we bought such devices for ourselves and now we always carry them with us.
How much does Vietnamese Luwak coffee cost?
Today in Asia, many packs are sold with the image of the Musang animal (the one that produces expensive grains) on the packaging. The cost of such packs starts from $2 per 500 grams. But we hasten to assure you that there are no more than 1-5% of real Luwak grains in such packs, and maybe not at all. Often, artificially fermented coffee is sold in packs under the guise of Luwak coffee, which has nothing in common with cute animals.
Usually Luwak coffee is mixed with Robusta and sold. The higher the content of luwak grains in a pack, the more expensive it will be. The price of pure Kopi Luwak coffee beans in Vietnam is about $ 1000 . And the cost of 1 cup of Luwak coffee in Europe can reach $ 90 !
The price of Luwak coffee in Russia today reaches 3700 rubles per 100 g. or 24"800 per 1 kg. We quote these prices from a specialized website that sells this particular type of coffee in Russia luwak.rf.
Video about real Luwak coffee from Indonesia:
We bought these packs in Vietnam and for only $2, most likely they do not contain real Luwak coffee beans, but the coffee is incredibly tasty:
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:
- Terra Nera from palm civet feces. The cost of 1000 g is impressive and reaches a value of more than 20 thousand dollars. It is sold only in one of the stores in the capital of Great Britain in exclusive packaging made of special thin silver paper.
- Black Ivory is a drink made from elephant dung. The cost of such coffee is more than $1,100 per 1 kg.
- Luwak is a coffee made from animal feces from Vietnam. Not everyone can afford elite Vietnamese coffee, since 1 kg of roasted raw material called Luwak costs around 250 – 1200 dollars. You can try it in very expensive restaurants or purchase it in the country of its production.
There are also many other expensive, but less popular varieties of coffee.
What animals “make” elite 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 make delicious coffee, it’s easier to navigate prices and product names.
Elite Vietnamese coffee drink - Luwak from the droppings of the Musang animal
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 the 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.
"Black tusk" from elephant feces
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.
Terra Nera from palm civet feces
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.
Blue Mountain Coffee from Jamaica
This coffee is obtained in the 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 and 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.
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 stores. It can be found in Big C and Tesco Lotus.
Everything has its price
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.
Process of creation
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
