What is the most expensive coffee in the world made of? Money doesn't smell: the world's most expensive coffees made from animal droppings. Coffee from monkey droppings - an unprecedented luxury

23.07.2020

Every real coffee lover, if not tried, then at least heard about the world-famous Indonesian luwak coffee. What epithets are not awarded to this coffee by producers and sellers: "the most prestigious in the world", "elite", "premium class", "drink of the gods", its taste is "unusually soft", "caramel", "with a delicate aroma of vanilla and chocolate, and so on and so forth. Although we ourselves do not like coffee very much and are not great connoisseurs of it, we nevertheless decided to find out better what this "animal coffee" is. Luwak in the local language is pronounced as "luwak", but since the pronunciation of "luwak" is more familiar to most, we will not retrain anyone and will continue to call it that - "coffee luwak". To write this post, we visited several Bali coffee plantations, as well as the annual Indonesian coffee festival in Ubud, where we tasted different varieties, compared ordinary coffee with luwak coffee, and also talked to local coffee masters. So, get acquainted, the main character in the chain of production of luwak coffee, little animal with sad eyes - musang or palm civet (paradoxurus hermaphroditus)

The process of making this exquisite coffee is as follows: civets eat fresh coffee berries, which are processed in their stomachs and intestines due to special enzymes. Coffee beans, which naturally leave the digestive tract of animals, are dried in the sun, then washed thoroughly, after which they are dried again in the sun and only then roasted.
The best and most delicious coffee is produced by wild civet, which at night make their way to coffee plantations, where they feast on selected - juicy and ripe coffee berries, and as a thank you leave their waste products, which farmers then find under coffee bushes and carefully collect

It is difficult to imagine in which inflamed brain the idea was originally born to pick out grains from excrement and eat them, but the fact remains that this happened, and they began to catch civet and put them in cages in order to put the production of luwak coffee on stream. Despite the assurances of farmers that the civet continues to be fed exclusively with selected berries, this is hard to believe, and judging by the hungry eyes of the animals, they are unlikely to be very picky
Each civet is fed about 1 kg of coffee berries per day, which yields only about 50 g of the desired grains. civets live not only on coffee rations - since they are predators by nature, animal food should also be present in their diet - as a rule, they are fed with chicken. During the day, luwaks are sleepy and lethargic and sleep most of the day, and their peak of activity comes at night, so the main feeding with coffee berries falls on the evening, and the chicken is given almost at night. The high cost of this coffee is explained by the fact that civets do not breed in captivity, so the only way to increase production is through wild animals. In addition, a special enzyme that affects coffee beans is produced in their bodies only 6 months a year, and the rest of the time they are kept “idle”. Many even release civets into the wild, and catch them again by the season - it turns out to be more profitable than feeding them for nothing for six months. The cost of luwak coffee on plantations is about 150,000 rupees ($15) per 100 g, with a wholesale purchase of about $100 per kilogram. In Europe, the price reaches $400 per 1 kilogram, and in retail, the price for coffee packaged in packs can reach $100 per 100 g. We asked to see the plantation, and we were given a tour of the territory
They showed the unfortunate civets slumbering in their cages. As a rule, they are quite aggressive, but during the daytime, some individuals turn out to be friendly, so that they can even be picked up. They are soft and fluffy to the touch, like cats, and their faces are very cute.
After the cages with animals, we looked at how the grains, which were not yet separated from the excrement, are dried on special pallets placed in the sun.
Then the already selected and washed grains are dried.
After that, completely prepared and dried grains await their turn for the next process.
Next, we watched the next stage of the transformation - the roasting of coffee beans.
So on the plantations you can see the whole process of turning coffee - from berries that grow on trees to the usual roasted beans or even ground coffee packaged in packs for sale.
We even put our hands to the roasting process - the boy stirring the grains honored us and handed us his ladle
After the tour, we were invited to a table.
And then to the tasting ceremony, where they offered to taste several varieties of tea, as well as regular coffee.
We leisurely sipped tea, enjoying the views of the rice terraces.
But Kopi Luwak was also offered to try, but for a fee - a cup of exclusive costs 50,000 rupees ($5). We tried it later, at the Food Festival in Ubud - if you drink it with the amount of sugar, as the Indonesians like to do, then you can not tell the difference. Without sugar, the taste of luwak coffee is slightly different - it is softer and less tart, but in our opinion, the price for it is wound up more for the brand than for the taste, although this is only our personal opinion, and we, again, are not coffee connoisseurs. In addition to civets, plantations often contain other animals, such as porcupines.
rabbits
Bees and wasps are bred - wasp honey, by the way, has a very specific taste
And also, in addition to coffee, spices and cocoa are grown on plantations.
In the shops at the plantation, you can buy packaged spices and other products with extracts of cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, nutmeg
Or try or smell not yet packaged, but freshly picked spices

How to find coffee plantations in Bali

Most coffee plantations are located on the road leading to Kintamani (mark on the map). There are several plantations there, we counted at least 5, on the road, as a rule, there is a large sign with the inscription Kopi Luwak

This is the most expensive luwak coffee made from animal droppings. This type of coffee has useful properties, pleasant aroma and unusual taste, which are due to fluffy animals of the viverrid family. They are called musangs, martens or civet. The real original luwak, or poop coffee, is made in Indonesia, where civets live in wild nature. There they feed on fresh ripe coffee fruits, plucking them directly from the branches.

In the process of eating a coffee berry, the luwak animal eats only the pulp, and the grain enters the stomach and intestines as a whole. There it is processed with gastric secretions containing a special enzyme civet, which subsequently gives the grains a special delicate taste without excessive bitterness. Locals collect animal droppings, wash and dry in the sun.

With this specific processing method, the most expensive poop coffee in Indonesia is obtained, the very same luwak coffee. The original coffee has an exceptional taste and aroma. The cost of coffee from excrement is about $ 100 per cup of the finished drink.

And this is not surprising. Indeed, in Indonesia, where coffee is made from poop, musangs live in freedom in natural conditions. These fluffy creators of the most expensive litter coffee don't even breed in captivity. Therefore, the answer to the question of how much luwak coffee costs is unambiguous - very, very expensive. Animals select the most delicious and ripe berries, and from 1 kg of berries you will get only 50g of valuable coffee beans. It is also interesting that the enzyme necessary for obtaining Luwak coffee is produced in the body of civets only 6 months a year - therefore, local residents receive coffee from excrement only for half a year. The production of the most expensive coffee from litter is no more than a few hundred kilograms in one year from all over Sumatra.

The relatively small area of coffee distribution on our planet, the dependence of crops on weather conditions, the vulnerability of coffee plantations do not contribute to the fall in coffee prices. Natural grains of decent quality have always been valued not cheaply. What is the most expensive coffee in the world?

Kopi Luwak is not the most expensive coffee!

The coffee that costs the most? By asking such a question to any search engine, you will receive many links to articles about the trendy variety Kopi Luwak. A good film with Robert De Niro added to his popularity, in which the variety is called the most expensive in the world. However, as often happens, the reputation is not entirely true.

The most expensive coffee in the world is Black Ivory from Thailand. Its cost is approximately 80 thousand rubles per 1 kg, which is twice the price of Kopi Luwak.

How the most expensive coffee is made

It is clear that there must be good reasons for such a high price of grains. What are the secrets of the production of the Black Ivory variety (in translation - “Black Ivory”).

In the north of Thailand, on the border with Laos, the Black Ivory Coffee coffee farm is located. It is owned by Canadian Blake Dinkin.
Thai Arabica is grown here, Thai Arabica trees feel great in a warm and humid climate.
On the coffee farm, in addition to bipeds, there are also four-legged employees. These are elephants, and they are entrusted with the most important and responsible part of the work.
After the ripened coffee berries are harvested, they are fed to the elephants. The fruits are partially fermented in the animal's digestive tract and then excreted naturally.
Berries are harvested, washed, dried and processed. The resulting grains are called "Blake Ivory".
Black Ivory has a surprisingly smooth taste. In the process of fermentation in the elephant's stomach, the traditional coffee bitterness completely disappears. You can enjoy a rich and bright coffee bouquet, with notes of fruits, spices and floral aroma, with a light caramel sweetish note. This taste is considered a coffee ideal, which is simply unattainable under natural conditions.
The high cost of Black Ivory is explained not only by the peculiarities of its processing, but also by the very a small amount grains on the market. This variety is truly rare. To obtain 1 kilogram of fermented beans, an elephant has to feed more than 30 kg of coffee berries.
The farm produces only 300 to 400 kg of coffee per year.
In Russia, real Black Ivory is hard to find. Officially, coffee is distributed in Anantara hotels and in the nature reserve of the same name. All points of sale are located in Thailand. The price of 1 kg is 1100 US dollars. Sometimes several kilograms of this coffee miracle appear in Russian coffee boutiques, but it’s easier to buy such coffee on order.

8% of the profits from Black Ivory sales go to a specially created elephant conservation fund.

Top 5 most expensive coffee in the world

A variety called "Black Tusk" is a unique, rare and very expensive coffee that is quite difficult to find and buy.

For those who want to join the club of elite varieties, we have compiled a list of the most expensive coffees that you can buy in our country. We present to your attention the 5 most expensive varieties from less to more expensive.

Grade Geisha (Geisha)

Price from 10 to 11 thousand per 1 kg of roasted grain.

The history of the variety is quite interesting. Its origin is still unclear. Some researchers claim that the seedlings were taken from Ethiopia, from the village of Gesha, where the name came from. However, nothing like this variety grows in modern Ethiopia.

The geisha craze began in the twentieth century, when farmers in South America found the variety resistant to rust, a traditional scourge of coffee trees. The geisha did not live up to expectations, on top of that she turned out to be extremely capricious and did not want to get used to the flat climate in which they tried to root her. The selection was abandoned.

In 2003, the owner of the Hacienda La Esmeralda coffee farm from Panama, discovered several trees of this variety on his plot and in the same year won a prestigious coffee competition with these beans. It is said that one of the experts took a sip of this coffee and exclaimed “God in cup”, roughly translated: “Divine!”.

After that, the victorious procession of the Geisha around the world began. Coffee has a very expressive and clean bouquet, in which you can recognize notes of citrus, lychee flowers, lime and even berry overflows. The taste is soft, enveloping, with a long and delicate aftertaste.

The variety is grown not only in Panama. Several Geisha plantations are known. The most expensive variety is from the same Hacienda La Esmeralda. The approximate price is 11 thousand rubles for 1 kg of coffee. Marketed under the brand name La Esmeralda.

A slightly cheaper analogue from Costa Rica is valued. It is sold under the brand name Geisha and costs about 10 thousand rubles per 1 kg of grains.

The Geisha variety is the winner of many prestigious competitions and is considered the most significant discovery in coffee history of the 21st century.

Sort Blue Mountain (Jamaica)

It is sometimes referred to by the abbreviation JBM.

Price - 27 thousand rubles per 1 kg of grains.

Coffee is grown in the heart of Java, on the slopes of a mountain range. The main peak is called Blue Mountain - Blue Mountain. He gave the name to the variety.

The combination of a set of climatic factors - altitude, soil composition and sea winds - give coffee a special taste. The JBM bouquet is considered the most exquisite in the world. It is famous for the balance of three main tastes - sourness, bitterness and sweetness. Long-lasting nutty notes are felt in its aftertaste, and the aroma of ripe nectarines is clearly felt in the bouquet.

Another feature of the variety is stable quality. A constant climate, without sudden changes in temperature and pressure, makes it possible to obtain grains with planned taste characteristics.

Jamaican Blue Mountain is grown on a limited basis, about 15 tons per year.

If you decide to buy Blue Mountain coffee, then be careful. In the world, this variety is grown in several other regions. But the lack of unique natural conditions results in a loss of flavor.

In order to confirm the authenticity, when purchasing Blue Mountain coffee, the Jamaican government issues a certificate of conformity.

JBM is supplied to the market not in bags, like all other varieties, but in barrels specially made for this purpose.

The Blue Mountain variety (Jamaica) is considered the most delicious in the world.

Variety Jacou Bird from Brazil

It costs about 28 thousand rubles for 1 kg of roasted beans.

One of the rarest and most exotic varieties comes from the southeast of Brazil.

Coffee plantations on the Camocim Estate farm have become a real platform for recreating the natural landscape of the area since about the 60s of the last century. coffee trees here they are grown together with other fruit and forest species, and the care is carried out only by organic methods.

Thanks to this approach, not only the quality of the fertile soil layer is restored, but also the fauna of the area. One of the unforeseen consequences was the active breeding of birds of a breed that the locals call Jacou. They are somewhat similar to our guinea fowl, even in color and plumage.

During the ripening period of coffee berries, birds willingly feast on them, devastating entire trees. Long time birds were looked upon as impudent invaders and even pests.

The current owner of the farm decided to change the approach to the problem. Now the birds have become not pests, but coffee berry pickers. The pulp of the berries is digested by birds, and the grains are excreted naturally. The owner of the plantation can only collect partially fermented grains, cleaned of pulp, rinse and dry them.

Jacques Bird coffee has an expressive nutty flavor, with hints of rye bread, fruity exotic accents and a pleasant aroma of molasses. This is one of the rarest varieties of coffee, so its price is high. Approximately 1.5-2 tons are produced per year.

Jacou Bird coffee is partially fermented and de-pulped in the stomachs of a local breed of birds.

Variety Bat, Costa Rica

Cost - 30 thousand rubles per 1 kg of roasted beans.

On the high plateaus of southeastern Costa Rica is a coffee farm called Cofea Deversa. The owner himself prefers to call his property a coffee garden.

The population of bats living near the plantations from generation to generation arrives to feast on ripe coffee berries.

The animal cannot swallow a whole berry, so the mice only bite the skin and suck out the sweet pulp.

Only grains in the shell remain on the trees. They are given a few more days to dry in natural conditions, then removed from the tree, cleaned, dried again and get a unique variety of coffee - Bat.

Amazing taste is achieved through a combination of two drying methods - dry and wet, as well as precise selection of grains. The fact is that bats have a very sensitive sensory and olfactory apparatus and choose only the best fruits for a meal.

The bouquet of this variety is distinguished by sweet notes of nectarine and coconut milk, the aroma of spices and a long, multi-layered aftertaste, in which exotic fruit shades replace the accent of chocolate and nuts.

No more than a few hundred kilograms of such coffee are collected per year.

Coffee Bat exposed special kind drying, and the choice of grains is carried out by natural gourmets - bats.

Variety Kopi Luwak (Indonesia)

The cost is 25-35 thousand rubles per 1 kg.

Kopi Luwak is a partially fermented variety. The process takes place in the digestive tract of civets. The grain processed in this way acquires a very mild chocolate flavor with a hint of peanuts. The fermentation process takes place with the participation of lactic acid bacteria, which break down the proteins of the coffee bean, removing the bitterness we are used to.

Kopi Luwak is obtained in several regions of the world. It is grown in India, the Philippines and even China. The most popular Indonesian version is Kopi Luwak, which is grown in Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi.

Kopi Luwak can be obtained in two ways. On plantations where civets are specially kept and fed with plucked coffee berries or in the wild, where animals choose fruits on their own.

The difference in price depends on the region of cultivation and the method of obtaining. The most prized wild Kopi Luwak is of Indonesian origin. Its cost is, on average, 35 thousand rubles per 1 kg of roasted beans. If you buy in small lots of 100 grams, then the price can rise to 4,700 rubles per lot.

Cheaper will cost "farm" Kopi Luwak from Indonesia. Its average price is 23-25 thousand per 1 kg of roasted beans.

A variety from other regions, obtained on farms, will not be much more accessible. But even in this case, the price for 1 kg of grains does not fall below 20 thousand rubles.

Wild Indonesian Kopi Luwak remains one of the most expensive varieties in the world. Analogues that are grown in other regions can cost significantly less.

Kopi Luwak can still be called the most expensive coffee, but not in the world, but among the varieties available on the market.

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
Jacou Bird (Brazil)	28 thousand rubles
Bat (Costa Rica)	30 thousand rubles
Kopi Luwak (Indonesia)	25-35 thousand rubles.
Black Ivory (Thailand)	75 thousand rubles

Vietnam is the second largest coffee producer in the world, accounting for 18%. But most of all, coffee from the feces of animals from Vietnam is famous.

It leads a nocturnal lifestyle, sleeps during the day, choosing secluded places, for example, tree hollows. By the way, he climbs trees very well. There are 30 subspecies of this musang.

Palm civet is omnivorous, coffee is not its main food. In the diet of the animal and various other fruits, as well as insects, worms, bird eggs and even small animals.

Enzymes, due to which coffee beans processed in the stomach of an animal acquire a peculiar taste, are produced only six months a year.

Luwak coffee

This type of coffee bears this name in Indonesia, where it is also produced. In Vietnam, it is called "chon". Coffee from the feces of animals from Vietnam has become calling card countries.

The fact that it was here that the business was put on stream did not reduce the price of the product, but increased the production of expensive grains due to the following:

Special farms were created where musangs are kept.
Animals are specially caught precisely at the time when they produce the necessary enzymes.
During the appropriate period, the palm marten is fed exclusively with the fruits of the coffee tree.

After the period of enzyme production has passed, the animals are released into the wild. At this time, excursions are organized for tourists who are in the country, on the plantation. And they can see the whole process of producing a unique coffee.

The cost of a product is made up of several factors:

Farmers hand-collect the excrement produced by the musangs after they have ingested the coffee fruit.
After collection, everything must be properly processed and dried, and this is also done manually.
The possibility of obtaining grains in a limited period of the year also increases the price of the product.

On average, luwak in Europe costs $150 per 100 grams. Often this variety is mixed with other coffee beans, which gives the drink an even richer aroma and taste.