Black Ivory Coffee is among the world’s rarest as well as most expensive coffee. The coffee brand is manufactured at Black Ivory Coffee Company that’s based in Northern Thailand. Black Ivory coffee is naturally refined by elephants. The elephant’s digestive enzymes influence the taste of the coffee since they break down the coffee’s protein. This article will discuss everything you need to know about Black Ivory coffee. Read on!
Black Ivory Coffee Production
As mentioned earlier, Black Ivory is among the world’s rarest as well as most expensive coffee. The coffee is produced from the Thai finest Arabica coffee beans that are handpicked from an altitude of around 5000 feet. After the Arabica coffee beans are harvested, they are mixed into a fruit mash and fed to the elephants. The beans are then plucked a day later from the animal’s dung by the elephant’s caretaker or the mahouts.
The elephants’ digestive system ferments the coffee beans thus bringing out the sweetness in them. However, the plucking process of the coffee beans from the elephants’ dung is highly inefficient. This is because the majority of the beans are lost in the tall grass, chewed up by the elephants, or fragmented in the bush after the elephants have deposited their dung. Usually, 2 pounds of black Ivory coffee are produced by 72 pounds of raw coffee cherries.
After the beans are collected by the elephants’ caretakers, they are taken for refining at the Elephant Foundation known as the Golden Triangle Asian Foundation that’s based in Thailand. To date, the foundation has rescued 30 elephants that are used to produce coffee. 8% of Black Ivory coffee sales are donated to the foundation to fund the elephant’s healthcare.
The production of the coffee beans depends on the elephants’ appetite, the availability of the coffee cherries, and the ability of the mahouts to recover the beans. Equally important, the high prices of Black Ivory coffee are a result of the high number of coffee cherries that are required to produce the final product.
Equally important, the consumption of the coffee cherries by the elephants doesn’t affect the elephants, and tests carried out by the veterinarian on the animals show that the animals don’t also absorb the caffeine from the cherries. Therefore, Black Ivory coffee will also provide the jolt of caffeine you’re looking for.
What Does Black Ivory Coffee Taste like?
Black Ivory coffee has notes of malt, chocolate, spice, and hints of grass. In addition, Black Ivory coffee does not contain the burnt and bitter taste that’s common with regular coffee. The coffee is the most distinctive cup that you’ll ever taste. Not to mention, purchasing Black Ivory coffee plays a huge part in supporting the foundation and the families who care and take care of the animals.
Black Ivory Coffee Availability
Black Ivory coffee is among the rarest coffee beans in the world. The coffee is only available in selected luxury hotels and resorts in some remote corners of the world such as in Maldives, Thailand, and Abu Dhabi. However, a small portion of Black Ivory Coffee is reserved on the brand’s website for consumption by international consumers.
