Tuesday, October 18, 2011

What Is The Most Expensive Coffee On Earth?

There are many expensive brands of coffee in the supermarket, but none of them are probably anywhere near as expensive as the most costly type of coffee on Earth. You might think that a 10 dollar cup of coffee is too much, and you'd be right in most cases, but there is a type of coffee that could have you forking over at least 80 dollars for a single cup. This type of coffee may surprise you, and the reason for its extreme costliness is one that most people don't expect.

It's not grown in a diamond mine. It's not infused with gold. The most expensive type of coffee in the world is actually pre-digested and defecated by a type of wild animal similar to a cat called a civet. The type of coffee, called kopi luwak, is harvested from the droppings of the Asian palm civet. The reason they cost so much is because they are so rare, and require much searching to find. Harvesters of kopi luwak literally pick the partially consumed beans out of the poop of the civets. While it used to be a bit harder to find the beans because they had to "form naturally", some harvesters have begun to catch the civets and feed them the beans for easier harvesting.

For some reason, many coffee critics and connoisseurs say that these coffee beans have a very good flavour. One critic, for instance, said that the beans were rich, strong, full bodied, and slightly chocolate flavoured. Most people can't either agree or disagree with that, because they haven't had the chance to taste the stuff. Just because it's expensive doesn't automatically mean it's the best, especially if you consider the source.

A pound of kopi luwak can run you up to 3 thousand dollars for a single pound. The exorbitant price range can sometimes be lower, depending on current supply and demand, and the cost of the coffee has been known to go as low as 100 dollars a pound. But that's still a full hundred dollars for a single pound of coffee that has been pre-digested.

If you ever get the chance to taste a cup of kopi luwak, then maybe you should try it. If you love a good cup of coffee and like trying new things, maybe you'll find a new favourite kind of coffee. You'll probably never be able to have it again, but at least you'll be able to boast to your friends about it. Most people probably want to be able to tell others that they've tasted coffee that's been defecated by wild Asian cats.

And if you value your money more that boasting rights or a short lived new experience, then skip it over for something more affordable. You won't feel so bad anymore spending 10 dollars on a pound of your favourite coffee if you remember that there are types of coffee out there selling for much, much more than that.

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