Black Ivory, Kopi Luwak, Monkey Parchment, Jacu Bird and Wild Bat are among the most exotic and expensive coffees of the world. Would I drink it? The answer is “hell to the double no” and not because of the price tag, but because how these coffees are cultivated and processed. I will summarize below.
Black Ivory Coffee from Northern Thailand reigns supreme and is priced at a mind blowing $1,500 for a one-pound bag (equivalent to 16 ounces) as of June 19, 2025. You are reading that correctly….ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED dollars for a one-pound bag. This coffee is ultra exclusive with the farm expected to produce an approximate allocation of 495 pounds for 2025. Right now, you are probably wondering why this coffee is very expensive. Well, the answer is that this coffee is naturally refined by elephants in limited quantities. YES, you are reading that correctly…I did say elephants. To put in plain English, the elephants are fed a mixture of fruits and coffee cherries and when they have a bowel movement, their poop is then collected and the coffee beans are cleaned, washed, dried, roasted and sold. The idea behind this is that during digestion, the fruits and coffee beans are infused and then gut enzymes break down the proteins that cause coffee bitterness. Once processed and prepared, the coffee is reported to be very smooth with flavored notes of cacao/chocolate, date, plum, pu’erh tea, tamarind and tobacco.
Another pricey coffee is the Kopi Luwak Coffee from Indonesia and the Philippines with a price range between $100 to $600 per pound. Coffee cherries are eaten and excreted by the Asian palm civet, a small cat like animal. The coffee cherries are fermented in the animal’s gut before being excreted. Once collected and processed, the coffee is said to have mild acidity and a syrupy body.
Monkey Parchment Coffee is another unique coffee that is produced in India and Taiwan. Annual production is estimated at around 100 pounds per producer with the coffee beans being sold between $100 to $500 per pound. Unlike Black Ivory and Kopi Luwak, this coffee is chewed and spat out by either the Formosan rock monkey or the Rhesus monkey depending on the region where the coffee is grown. As the monkey chews the coffee, the enzymes in the monkey’s saliva break down coffee bitterness and impart them with a spectrum of flavored notes ranging from caramel, chocolate, nuts, and vanilla with occasional floral accents.
Jacu Bird Coffee from Brazil is another exclusive coffee prized for its smooth flavor with low acidity and a distinct nutty aftertaste with hints of aniseed. This coffee is painstakingly harvested from the excrement from the Jacu, an endangered, pheasant-like bird, which only eats the ripest of coffee cherries. Only a small volume is produced annually with retail prices ranging from $300 to $600 per pound.
The last unique coffee are beans processed by various farmers primarily in Costa Rica and Madagascar using wild fruit bats. This coffee is commonly known as "Bat Poop" coffee, but the correct term should be "Bat Spit" coffee as the bats nibble but do not digest the coffee cherries. As these bats nibble on coffee cherries, they break the skin of the ripe cherry and lick the sugar-rich mucilage leading to an enzymatic change. The coffee cherries are left on the tree and dry as they are exposed to the sun before being harvested. Those who have tasted this coffee report of floral and fruity notes. Depending on which region these coffee beans are sourced from, they typically can be purchased at retail prices between $100 to $450 per pound.
Overall, elephant shit, cat poop, monkey spit, bird shit and bat spit coffee are simply too exotic for my taste buds. While a lot of coffee enthusiasts love the taste of these exotic coffees, I am unwilling to partake as I have a genuine fear that harmful microbes may be present. I would rather purchase coffee beans that are untouched by animals and I am biased towards the great tasting coffee beans at the Art of the Bean and Leaf, www.artofbeanandleaf.com.