The Black Ivory blend, made from coffee beans digested and
excreted by Thai elephants, is billed as producing a particularly
smooth cup.
But it is not cheap, with Anantara Hotels saying the "naturally
refined" coffee costs a staggering $1,100 per kilogram -- making it
one of the most expensive blends in the world.
"Research indicates that during digestion, the enzymes of the
elephant break down coffee protein," the Thai-based hotel group,
which is selling the pungent brew at around $50 for two cups, said
in a statement sent to AFP Thursday.
"Since protein is one of the main factors responsible for
bitterness in coffee, less protein means almost no bitterness."
Once the elephants have digested the coffee berries, the beans
are picked out of their dung by mahouts -- their trainers -- and
then sun-dried.
The process is carried out at the hotel's elephant rescue centre
in Thailand's north where 30 of the beasts live along with mahouts
and their families.
Black Ivory is not the first novelty blend to hit the market in
recent years. Coffee passed through the civet, a tree-dwelling
mammal in the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, sells for a
similar price.
One New York coffee shop sells the civet coffee for $748 a
kilogram.
