The most expensive coffee in the world is Black Ivory coffee and it costs around $500 per pound. If you are lucky enough to find a cup of this rare specialty coffee, you can expect to pay around $80 for a single cup.
Don’t rush to grab your wallet just yet, because Black Ivory coffee is so rare that it can only be found in a few places on earth. The company sells the coffee online in extremely limited quantities and only for a short period of time.
Continue reading on to learn about why Black Ivory coffee is so expensive and XXX other coffees that will empty your wallet as well.
Black Ivory Coffee – The World’s Most Expensive Bean
Black Ivory Coffee is made from Arabica coffee beans in a far corner of Thailand. Before the beans are roasted, they are fed to elephants and passed through their digestive system. Once the coffee beans have gone through this process, they are then roasted to perfection.
The result is an amazing cup of coffee without any acidity. During the elephant’s digestion, the coffee beans are essentially stripped of their acid that gives coffee a bitter taste. While fans of coffee will say that the extremely low acidity levels produce the finest java, others argue that stripping so much acid from the beans actually yields a lower quality product.
The Dark Side of Black Ivory Coffee
In recent years there has been a bit of backlash from the coffee industry, animal rights groups, and other activists regarding the harvesting practices of the Black Ivory Coffee company. Because the company uses live animals to produce their products, they have faced more scrutiny, and for good reasons.
Opponents of Black Ivory Coffee say the animals are not being fed a traditional diet and therefore aren’t as healthy as they could be. The company has been accused of abuse, neglect, and other atrocities towards their animals, so the activists’ accusations are not completely unfounded.
Unfortunately, because the Black Ivory Coffee Company is located and run overseas, the regulations in the use of animals to create a product are severely lacking compared to United States laws.
Black Ivory is Not Unique
While it may seem far-fetched that a coffee bean has been harvested from an animal’s feces, it isn’t the first or only coffee blend to have been created that way. The most famous, and still very expensive, a coffee blend that is made from animal excrement is Kopi Luwak.
Kopi Luwak Coffee
Kopi Luwak coffee is a type of coffee that has been eaten and digested by Asian Palm Civets. The Asian Palm Civet is a type of jungle cat, often confused with a monkey, but more closely resembles a mongoose.
The Asian Palm Civet is native to Thailand, China, and parts of Southeast Asia. The palm civet has been used for harvesting coffee beans for decades and the Kopi Luwak coffee is the second most expensive coffee. Expect to have a pound of this decadent coffee sell for around $450 with a single cup costing on average of $75.
Like with Black Ivory Coffee, Kopi Luwak faces accusations of animal mistreatment and neglect, unsafe living conditions, dwindling population numbers, and more. Locals that live around the coffee bean farms describe tourism as hurting the areas as people have started coming from around the world to visit the Civets.
Other Expensive Coffee Blends
If you are looking for a specialty coffee that is a higher-end blend without all of the animal rights violations, there are several great options for serious coffee aficionados. Continue reading further to learn more about other expensive blends.
Finca El Injerto
Finca El Injerto Coffee is pricey due to the utilization of rare, rich, petite beans. By washing the grains in a single river channel and shattering them twice, the grain quality is increased. Despite its high price of $500 per pound, it is a favorite drink among coffee connoisseurs all around the world.
Hacienda La Esmerelda
The Peterson Family, third-generation coffee producers and owners of Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama’s Chiriqu province of the Boquete area created this coffee blend back in 1988 and it’s been their single best seller ever since. Their blend is a highly sought-after Geisha Arabica coffee.
Many well-known critics and groups have rated Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda first, making it the world’s most recognized geisha coffee. The blend has won numerous awards and snagging a cup for yourself will set up back around $350 for a pound or on average $60 per cup.
While some might shy away from the hefty price tag, serious coffee drinkers consistently shell out the big bucks for this fantastic blend.
Saint Helena
If you are a fan of Napolean Bonaparte, then you will love this coffee. He grew this coffee bean on the Island of Saint Helena, its namesake. Saint Helena is located off of the coast of Africa in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
The transportation costs are a major factor in the $79 per pound price tag that this coffee fetches. Fans of this brand, on the other hand, are more than prepared to pay the premium price because the drink has a high-quality, fragrant caramel flavor with overtones of citrus.
Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
When you think of Jamaica you probably think of crystal blue waters, white sandy beaches, and pineapples as far as you can see. While you might not think of coffee immediately, Jamaica is one of the largest exporters of coffee beans in the Caribbean.
Blue Mountain Coffee is grown in the Blue Mountain range, a 24-mile long range of mountain peaks on the southern end of the island. With peaks ranging from 5000 to 7000 feet, coffee grown on the slopes of these high mountains produce quality coffee beans with a unique flavor profile.
Our least expensive blend on this list, you can expect a pound of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee to still cost around $65.
Hi, I’m Jen Williams, chief editor and writer for ThirstPerk.com.
I’ve been drinking coffee and tea for most of my life, but it wasn’t until I started working at Thirstperk.com that I became an expert on the subject. I’m a total caffeine addict who has spent hours upon hours reading about and experimenting with the different types of coffees out there in my search to find the perfect cup of joe.
I’ve been a tea lover for as long as I can remember as well. I grew up in a house with a mom who loved to drink herbal tea, and I think that’s where my love for tea first began. These days, I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting teas to try, and I love experimenting with different brewing methods and flavoring combinations.
