Have you ever imagined a cup of coffee costing millions of rupiah? It may sound like a joke, but in reality there are several types of coffee with truly amazing prices. What makes these coffees so special and expensive? Let's explore the world of exclusive coffees.
What Drives the Price of Coffee?
Before discussing the world's most expensive cup of coffee, it's important to understand what drives coffee prices. Although there are many factors, there are generally three main ones: labor wages, processing methods, and shipping costs.
In addition, climate change plays an important role. Extreme weather conditions, such as droughts and heat waves, force coffee farmers to work much harder. Droughts make it difficult for coffee plants to grow, and pests reduce yields.
As a result, farmers face additional costs to cope with these challenges. While they are encouraged to adopt technology, they still need to make significant investments in technology and infrastructure. All of these additional costs are ultimately passed on to consumers.
Why Are Certain Coffees More Expensive?
Simply put, it can be explained by market mechanisms: supply and demand. Certain coffees, such as the Geisha variety, often experience significant increases in demand on the international market. Limited supply and superior quality are the two main factors driving the high prices of these coffees.
The complex production process, which requires high precision from the selection of the coffee beans to the final stages of processing, also contributes to higher production costs, which are ultimately reflected in the final product price. As a result, premium coffees that are difficult to produce are available in limited quantities, causing their price to skyrocket due to supply constraints.
For coffee enthusiasts, let's dive deeper into the world of luxury coffee and uncover the secrets behind this "liquid gold". Here are the top 5 most expensive coffees in the world, according to Dubai Sotheby's International Realty:
1. Black Ivory - $2,500
Black Ivory, the pricey dark brew from Thailand, has claimed the title of the world's most expensive coffee. Selling for a staggering $2,500 per kilogram, this coffee offers a unique flavor as it is produced by the digestive process of elephants.
Only the finest Arabica beans are fed to the elephants, and for every 35 kilograms of beans consumed, only 1 kilogram makes it into the final product. The limited production is due to the availability of high quality Arabica beans and the number of elephants involved, making it one of the most exclusive coffees on the market.
2. Misha Coffee - $1,500
Similar to Black Ivory, Misha Coffee is produced by a creature known as the coati, a raccoon-like animal native to the Andes. These animals, experts in selecting ripe coffee cherries, consume the fruit, allowing it to undergo a natural digestive process.
Coffee grown in the Andes typically has deep chocolate, almond and subtle citrus flavors. However, the digestive process of the coatis, which mixes the coffee beans with fruits such as pineapple or papaya, adds complexity to the flavor. The waste is then collected and roasted at nearly 220 degrees to ensure cleanliness before processing.
3. Kopi Luwak - $1,300
Kopi Luwak, one of the most expensive coffees from Indonesia, is known for its natural digestion process using civets, small ferret-like mammals, whose waste is collected after digestion.
The civets select high quality coffee cherries to eat. The result is an exclusive coffee with smoothness and aromas of caramel, chocolate, and nutty flavors. Produced in Java, Bali and Sumatra, Kopi Luwak is a major attraction for international tourists.
4. Ospina Coffee - $1,250
Ospina Coffee is grown in the Andes Mountains of Colombia, where it benefits from volcanic soil and a favorable climate. The coffee beans are hand-picked at peak ripeness and subjected to bird-friendly wet milling.
Using rare Arabica Typica varieties, Ospina produces coffee with a complex flavor and smooth texture. With less than 1% of the world's Arabica production, these beans are highly prized and undergo more than 20 quality controls, making it one of the most expensive coffees in the world.
5. Finca El Injerto - $1,100
Finca El Injerto comes from the first carbon neutral coffee farm in Guatemala, run by the Aguirre family. The farm uses a unique method of washing coffee cherries to improve the quality of the beans, resulting in a coffee with a rich flavor, creamy texture and sweet notes reminiscent of dark chocolate. In addition, the coffee offers hints of tea, rose, tamarind, coconut and sweet fruits.
