How Elephants Help Make One Of The Most Expensive Coffees In The World
When choosing coffee to buy, you probably look into the type of bean used, the country of origin, and the roast level. But if your coffee budget is in the thousands, you may also check to see if your coffee comes from elephant poop. Black Ivory Coffee is currently one of the most expensive coffees in the entire world. A kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) is $3,000, while 40 grams (enough for about two cups of coffee) will cost you $150.
What exactly makes this coffee so special and expensive? The main thing is that the process of production is extremely labor intensive. The coffee is made by picking arabica cherries grown in Thailand, and then giving the cherries to the elephants as food. Most of the elephants are rescued, and it's expensive to take care of them. Black Ivory claims to also pay Thai mahouts (elephant carers) a fair wage for their work. It's the least the company could do, since part of that work involves picking through elephant excrement to find the beans. Many are lost in the process — only about two pounds of coffee are produced from 77 pounds of cherries!
The coffee is also expensive because Black Ivory Coffee is the only company that uses this method (though coffee that uses civet poop and monkey spit coffee already exists). Plus, only around 495 pounds of this coffee are produced each year. This makes the product limited and exclusive, which ups its cost.
Is Black Ivory Coffee worth it?
By all accounts, the process of having elephants eat and excrete coffee cherries before they're processed does change its taste. The mammals' digestive track ferments the beans, taking away their bitterness and enhancing their sweetness. Once the beans are fully processed and brewed, the result is an aromatic coffee with hints of herbs and fruits. Some credit this to the fact that the beans were in the elephant's stomach along with other foods that make up their herbivore diet. The smooth coffee also lacks the bitterness that makes so many people turn to sugar, milk, or even maple syrup to make the drink more palatable.
So, is this coffee worth buying? That really depends on your personal preferences. If you love strong, bitter coffee, you probably won't be a fan. But if you like aromatic coffees, you should definitely try it — if you can afford it. There's no denying that this product is inaccessible to most people, which is why the company has made a new blend (the Mahout's Blend) that is priced at only $65 for 40 grams. The blend combines its original coffee with arabica that hasn't been digested by elephants. This helps bring the price down, though the quality is not the same. Still, if you're curious to try this unique coffee, this cheaper alternative is a good way to dip your toes into the unique world of elephant poop coffee.