Buzz
Originating from Northern Thailand, elephant dung coffee quickly claimed the title of the world's most expensive coffee, with a retail price of $1,100 USD/kg.
Indulge in the most luxurious elephant dung coffee in the world
It's no wonder that elephant dung coffee is hailed as a delicacy of Thailand as the country is known for one of the world's most expensive coffees – Black Ivory. The Anantara hotel in Chiang Saen district, Thailand, raises elephants and serves this special coffee service to tourists. Each cup of coffee costs around 50 USD (more than 1 million VND).
Similar to the civet coffee-making process, Black Ivory is created from the digestive process of coffee beans by elephants in the conservation area. Ripe Arabica coffee is hand-picked by Akha ethnic women in the mountainous areas of Chiang Mai and added to the elephants' diet along with sugar cane, fruits, or rice... The natural digestive process to create Black Ivory coffee beans takes about 70 hours with enzymatic reactions breaking down the protein structure, which gives the coffee beans their bitter taste. The fermentation process also enhances the flavor of the coffee beans, similar to wine aging from grapes.
The way to drink elephant dung coffee is also very unique. The staff will prepare this special coffee in front of the guests using a stylish French coffee grinder from the 19th century at the Anantara resort. The brewing method follows the manual siphon method originating from France in the 1840s. A spirit lamp heats the kettle to a fixed temperature of 93 degrees Celsius – ideal for brewing coffee. The end result is a light brown coffee, then gradually turns to a reddish hue like wine.
After pouring coffee into the glass, the barista advises customers to wait a bit because the best temperature for coffee is around 70 degrees Celsius. Enjoying coffee is similar to wine, depending on individual taste preferences, the flavor varies. Black Ivory is renowned for its gentle aroma blending with bitter chocolate, malt flavor, earthy scent, leather, tobacco, and fragrant grass.
The entrepreneur behind the elephant dung coffee brand is a businessman from Canada – Blake Dinkin. He also created job opportunities for locals by digging through piles of elephant dung and picking out pristine coffee beans.
According to Mytour
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Reference: Travel guide by Mytour
MytourJanuary 6, 2023
