Black Ivory coffee

Black Ivory Coffee is a brand of coffee produced by the Black Ivory Coffee Company Ltd in Northern Thailand from Arabica coffee beans consumed by elephants and collected from their feces.^[1][2] The taste of Black Ivory coffee is influenced by elephants' digestive enzymes, which breaks down the coffee's protein.^[2] "Protein is one of the primary factors for bitterness in coffee. Less protein results in a coffee with less bitterness." The coffee beans are digested within 15 to 70 hours, and are present with various other ingredients in the elephants' stomachs, which imparts specific flavors to the product.^[3] In contrast to civets who are omnivores, elephants are herbivores. Herbivores utilize fermentation to help break down cellulose (green leafy matter).

Availability

Black Ivory coffee has been described as "very smooth without the bitterness of regular coffee" and is among the world's most expensive coffees, at US$1,100 per kilogram.^[2] It has limited availability, and at a few luxury hotels it is available at the price of US$50 a cup.^[3] The supply of Black Ivory coffee depends on the availability of coffee cherries, the appetite of the elephants, the number of beans destroyed through chewing of the beans and the ability of the mahouts and their wives to recover intact beans. The high price of the product is largely due to the large number of coffee cherries needed to produce the finished product:^[3] 33 kilograms (72 pounds) of raw coffee cherries results in 1 kilogram (2 pounds) of the finished product.^[3] Most of the beans are not recoverable because they are chewed by the elephants, become fragmented, or after being excreted are lost in the bush.^[3]

Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation

The coffee is produced by Black Ivory Coffee Co. Ltd. at the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation in Chiang Saen, northern Thailand, an elephant refuge that cares for rescued elephants.^[3] Approximately 20 elephants at the foundation produce the coffee. Eight percent of Black Ivory Coffee Company sales are donated to the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, which is used to fund the elephants' health care.^[3] The consumption of the coffee cherries does not adversely affect the elephants, and veterinary tests concluded that caffeine is not absorbed from the coffee cherries they consume.^[3]

See also

• Kopi Luwak
• List of delicacies

References

Coffee Topics Economics Fair trade History Production Coffee production List of countries by coffee production Species and varieties Arabica S795 coffee Charrieriana Liberica Robusta Components Cafestol Caffeic acid Caffeine Coffee bean Processing Coffee roasting Coffee wastewater Decaffeination Home roasting Preparation AeroPress Chorreador Coffeemaker Coffee syrup Cold brew Drip brew Espresso lungo ristretto Espresso machine French press Handpresso Instant coffee Knockbox List of coffee dishes Moka pot Percolator Turkish coffee Vacuum maker Coffee drinks Affogato Americano Bica Bicerin Cà phê sữa đá Café au lait Café de olla Café con leche Café Cubano Caffè mocha Café Touba Caffè corretto Café com Cheirinho Caffè macchiato Cappuccino Carajillo Coffee milk Cortado Espresso Flat white Frappuccino Galão Garoto Greek frappé coffee Iced coffee Indian filter coffee Ipoh white coffee Irish coffee Karsk Kopi Luwak Kopi tubruk Latte Latte macchiato Liqueur coffee Long black Mazagran Red eye Ristretto Rüdesheimer Kaffee Turkish coffee White coffee Yuanyang Organisation lists Coffee companies Coffeehouses Lifestyle Barista Café Caffè Caffè sospeso Coffee break Coffee ceremony CoffeeCon Coffee culture Coffee cupping Coffee Palace Coffeehouse Fika Kopi tiam Latte art Viennese coffee house Substitutes Barley tea Barleycup Caro Chicory Dandelion coffee Inka Postum Qishr Roasted grain beverage Misc. Coffee and doughnuts Coffee leaf rust Third wave of coffee Coffee portal  Category: Coffee