In the price of coffee lies a cuppa of luxury, especially if you were to scour the beanfulls for the most expensive coffees in the world. While professionals evaluate coffees based on attributes such as fragrance, body, acidity and after taste, these ratings are prone to subjective biases, making them far more complicated than ones based on more tangible factors, such as price. The former tends to be quite dear to individual preferences, while the latter is dear in a very different sense of the word. Read: Wallet!
In compiling the list of the most expensive coffees of the world I have come to understand that sinful extravagance tastes best, when swathed in simplicity.
Esmeralda especial Geisha: A multiple award winner produced by the Peterson family of the Hacienda La Esmeralda, in Panama, this coffee once sold for a whopping Rs 50,000 per kg! The exclusivity of this coffee is emphasised by the fact that it is only sold at private auctions, and is the hot favourite among professional tasters and aficionados alike.
Cupping notes: Unusually high acidity, citrus, bergamot, intense honey, silky mouthfeel and a floral and buttery finish.
Esmeralda especial Geisha
Kopi Luwak: This rare and expensive coffee is produced from the beans retrieved from the scat of the Asian Civet Cat, or Luwak, as it is known in Indonesia. Production is mainly on the islands of Sumatra, but it is also found on other islands of the Indonesian Archipelago, Vietnam and the Philippines. The shy and nocturnal Luwak only eats the coffee fruit at its optimally ripe stage, after which fermentation takes place in its digestive tract, where digestive enzymes impart “unique” characteristics to the beans.
Price: Rs 85,000 per kg, with the brand Sijahtra retailing its most expensive version at Rs 1,90,000 per kg!
Kopi Luwak
Finca El Injerto: In June of 2012, this Guatemalan farm sold a small lot of unroasted coffee at a record Rs 60,000 per kg. Being of a rare heritage variety from Yemen, this coffee is characterised by its small bean size, which is a third of the standard Arabica bean. Winning the Guatemala Cup of Excellence five times, the superior quality of this coffee is ensured by special post-harvest processes such as a unique washing process and double depulping.
Cupping notes: Intense, with extraordinary aromatics, complexity and sweetness.
Finca El Injerto
St. Helena Coffee: Cultivated exclusively on the rich volcanic soil of St. Helena, in the south Atlantic Ocean, this coffee is of the rare heirloom Mocha varietal. Once on the island, this varietal was strategically renamed as “St. Helena Green-Tipped Bourbon.” Not just famous for its aroma and flavour, the farms from which this coffee comes from are strictly fertilised using only guano (bird droppings).
Cupping notes: Rich, balanced, floral, caramel and peach. Price: Rs 20,000 per kg
St. Helena Coffee
Black Ivory Coffee: Produced from coffee beans retrieved from elephant dung, Black Ivory had once fetched Rs 2,20,000 for a kg! The high price tag and the very low production (only 150 kg per year) can be directly attributed to the fact that only a miniscule quantity of usable beans can be recovered from the large mammal's dung. Just as in Kopi Luwak, the digestive enzymes of the elephants digestive tract break down proteins in the bean, giving this uber-exclusive coffee its “sublimely smooth, zero bitterness” cupping notes.
Brewing tip: Use this early 19th century French brewing apparatus (pictured), if you can find one.
Black Ivory Coffee
Truly passionate about coffee, the writer has a masters in coffee economics and science, from the Ernesto Illy Foundation at Trieste, Italy. He also comes from a family of coffee cultivators with over 60 years in the industry.
