A $50 cup of elephant coffee
Kopi luwak or civet coffee has recently gained a formidable competitor from another animal, the elephant. A cup of coffee costs 50 dollars, but coffee lovers are wildly enthusiastic.
"There's a hint of game about it that I can't think of a word for," says an American who tasted the coffee. Canadian Blake Dinkin (42) praises the smooth taste of the coffee he developed – without the bitterness of regular coffee.
The elephant stomach acts as a stew
As with the feline civet, the coffee beans are extracted from the feces. The elephants get a meal of arabica coffee berries. In the stomach, the protein is broken down, which causes the bitter taste of coffee. The elephant stomach acts as a kind of stew: it takes about 15 to 30 hours to digest the berries and other ingredients from the meal, such as bananas and sugar cane, infuse into the berries. This gives the coffee a slightly earthy and fruity taste.
After the coffee has been extracted from the stool, it is thoroughly washed, the coffee cherries are processed to extract the beans, and the coffee is roasted in Bangkok. After that, under the brand name Black Ivory Coffee, she moves to some luxuries hotels, including in the Maldives, in Abu Dhabi and to some Antara resorts Thailand, including the Antara Golden Triangle Resort in Chiang Rai. The animals are not very efficient, because to produce 1 kilo of coffee, 33 kilos of coffee cherries are needed.
At first, animal rights activists were sceptical
The twenty elephants that produce the coffee live in a camp run by the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, a sanctuary for rescued elephants. Animal rights activists were initially sceptical, but blood tests have now shown that the caffeine is not absorbed into the blood. And the jumbos don't get addicted to coffee either. So now the skeptics are over, also because 8 percent of the turnover goes to the care of the animals.
When I still lived in the Netherlands I also drank this type of coffee, not a price that approached $ 50, but 8 euros, but the Kopi luwak or civet coffee is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. The high price is not caused by the rareness of the coffee cherries themselves, but by the very special production process. Kopi is the Indonesian word for "coffee" and luwak[1] is the local name for a civet cat that eats the raw red coffee berries.
As a coffee trader in Thailand (Chiangmai), I have of course already tried both coffees
but I was not impressed. Nothing special and way too expensive for that
the daily coffee drinker. It will never be a bestseller.
Our Alti coffee is of excellent quality and is freshly roasted daily
and costs only Baht 430 per kg.
(count from your profit)
I am happy to take on that challenge. I am a lover of espresso, small cups and very strong.
Can I get the coffee ground and what do I have to purchase in terms of installation to enjoy your coffee, pour-on coffee, I already have a machine for special cups.
I look forward to hearing from you [email protected] aka Yuunda (writer on this blog)
You can also order this coffee and send it to Pattaya, for example
Can agree with what Albert writes. His coffee is delicious. When we are in Chiang Mai we always visit him for a delicious coffee and before we leave we take a few kilos home.
The coffee is also too expensive for me
Say hello to Tim from Mom
At the end of the year I will be in Chiangmai and I will come and taste your coffee. For the time being I prefer Douwe Egberts Special (quick filter grind) for sale at Makro for 338 baht per kilo.
Thank you Viviane
Daily and all over Thailand we send by mail
our Alti coffee to coffee shops and/or for private use.
No problem to ship coffee to Pattaya.
(see our website http://www.alti-coffee.com)
where in chiang mai is albert somewhere. Can you give me an address or where is his coffee for sale.
A good coffee bean is a good coffee bean just like a good piece of meat is a good piece of meat. What nonsense to spoil a good coffee bean or the coffee bean is so bad that the elephant has to save it…..And then that price…..Pfffff.
We are in Hangdong just outside Chiangmai.
tel. 089-6354490