Did you know that the people of Denmark pay the most to drink a cup of coffee in the world? Compared to the $0.78 per cup in Ethiopia, Danes pay as much as $5.40 for a cup.
Granted that there are myriad factors that go into pricing coffee (such as import fees in the case of Denmark, origin of coffee, etc.), it also speaks to the value that people see in the beverage in order to pay more for good quality coffee.
When the average cost of a pound of coffee is usually around $10-15, with specialty coffee costing more, it’s interesting to note how the costliest coffees in the world go for hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Black Ivory Coffee
Made in northern Thailand, Black Ivory Coffee is one of the most expensive coffees in the world.
100% Arabica coffee cherries are consumed by elephants. Their digestive enzymes break down the cherry, and the remains are then excreted. The coffee beans are harvested from their faeces by coffee producers and processed into green coffee. Black Ivory Coffee was invented by Blake Dinkin.
A factor that is attributed to its steep price is the quantity of coffee cherries required to produce a bag of the final product. It takes 33 kg of cherries for 1 kg of roasted coffee.
You’ll find this brew mostly served in a lot of high-end hotels. It is also available to buy online. Guaranteeing a smooth cup of coffee, it is said to have tasting notes of spices and chocolate.
One pound of Black Ivory Coffee can cost you $1500.
Finca El Injerto
The story behind Finca El Injerto is an awe-inspiring one. The efforts of the Aguirre family in Guatemala gave rise to the first carbon-neutral-certified coffee plantation, which they named El Injerto. It also became a Rainforest Alliance Certified location.
The coffees grown in this plantation benefit from the highly fertile soil, giving the beans a fruity-floral profile.
If you want to know more about Guatemalan coffee, we have covered it in detail on our blog.
The reason that Finca El Injerto fetches a steep price of $500 per pound is that the small-sized beans are quite rare. Moreover, this coffee has won the Cup of Excellence several times. That should tell you why it’s of high quality and enjoys a sizable market.
Ospina Dynasty Coffee
As one of the oldest Colombian coffee companies, Ospina gets its name from its founder, Don Mariano Ospina Rodriguez, who played a crucial role in making Colombian coffee a big success in the global market.
Grown at an altitude of 7700ft, their most prized coffee, the Dynasty Gran Café Grand Cru Classé Premiere Grand Cru will cost you a little over $2500 per pound.
With a 185-year legacy and a rare coffee variety used to make this coffee, people are ready to pay a hefty price for the Ospina Dynasty.
Its velvety smooth body coupled with the flavour notes of coconut, chocolate, and berries makes this a decadent coffee.
Kopi Luwak
Kopi Luwak has long since enjoyed the reputation of being one of the most distinct and expensive coffees that connoisseurs from all over the world seek to experience.
Produced mainly in Indonesia and the Philippines, this coffee is made employing a similar process as the Black Ivory Coffee. Instead of elephants, Asian palm civets are the mammals that consume coffee cherries. The processed beans are then collected from the faeces and cleaned thoroughly before the production of the coffee continues.
One pound of Kopi Luwak ranges from $160 to $600. The process of harvesting the coffee beans, the manpower required, and the quality of the end product are some of the reasons why Kopi Luwak is pricier than other coffees.
You can expect an earthy flavour profile with minimal acidity from this incredibly aromatic coffee.
Hacienda Esmeralda Geisha
A specialty coffee variety, Geishas are known to be resistant to plant diseases. They are one of the rare coffees in the world. This makes them extremely pricey.
The ones from the Hacienda Esmeralda estate are grown on Mount Baru in Panama and praised for the superb quality of the Geisha coffee beans.
Considerably more affordable than the other coffees on this list, the Hacienda Esmeralda Geisha will cost you $120 per pound.
In addition to being an award-winning coffee, you get to experience flavours of stone fruit, bergamot, and jasmine in the cup. They also possess a brilliant acidity that balances the notes of the coffee.