Why Is Elephant Coffee More Expensive Than Civet Coffee_ Why Are Elephant Coffee Beans the Priciest?

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Similar to civet coffee, commonly known as "cat poop coffee," "elephant dung coffee" is actually coffee beans that are swallowed by elephants and then excreted with their feces after digestion. According to Thailand's Anantara Hotels, research shows that enzymes in the elephant's digestive system can break down the proteins in coffee beans. Since proteins cause bitterness in coffee, the fewer proteins, the less bitter the coffee becomes, and the smoother the taste.

Blake Dinkin, 44, is the founder of Black Ivory Coffee. Initially, he used carefully selected coffee beans from civet feces to produce the world's most expensive coffee beverage - "kopi luwak." However, as demand for "civet coffee" increased in Southeast Asian regions including Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, the quality of the finished coffee began to decline. Additionally, to increase production, civets were kept in cages and force-fed coffee beans, which contradicted Dinkin's original intention to protect the environment rather than harm animals. Thus, Dinkin began considering whether other animals were suitable for producing this type of coffee. After discovering that elephants in Southeast Asia sometimes choose to eat coffee during the dry season, he selected elephants as the production target and began collaborating with a local elephant rescue charity organization to start producing "elephant dung coffee."

Why is Elephant Dung Coffee So Expensive?

Producing elephant dung coffee was not as easy as Blake had imagined - it took him nine years to succeed. Blake said: "I originally thought that just feeding coffee beans to elephants would produce great coffee." Unexpectedly, the first attempt "was terrible" and difficult to swallow.

Blake describes the elephant's esophagus as a stew pot, where the swallowed coffee beans take 17 hours to be excreted. During this process, the elephant's stomach acid breaks down the bitterness in the coffee beans.

Blake says that elephants need to eat 33 kilograms of coffee beans to produce one kilogram of coffee, and because elephants sometimes defecate while bathing in rivers, many coffee beans are "lost" in this way.

Why is Elephant Dung Coffee So Expensive?

However, precisely because of its rarity, each kilogram of elephant dung coffee costs $1,880, meaning each espresso costs $13. Eight percent of the sales revenue will be donated back to the conservation organization they partner with. The families of mahouts who pick coffee beans from elephant dung, wash them, and dry them will also receive salaries.

Currently, this precious elephant dung coffee is only sold in luxury hotels in Asian markets such as Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong. But soon, the product will also enter high-end venues in Paris, Zurich, Copenhagen, and Moscow.

However, regardless of the publicity, "elephant dung coffee" has not received favorable reviews from all coffee enthusiasts. Aleaume Paturle, owner of a Paris café, stated that the reputation of "elephant dung coffee" comes more from commercial promotion and brand effects rather than its unique flavor. He said, "'Elephant dung coffee' is very creative, but it's not the best-selling coffee. To make the best coffee, you must control the fermentation process, but when fermentation occurs in an animal's digestive tract, it's more difficult to control the fermentation intensity. Although customers have varying opinions on the taste of 'elephant dung coffee,' it's undeniable that this creativity has attracted many people, which will expand its visibility and increase sales. Perhaps, it is this curiosity-seeking psychology that has fueled the development of "dung coffee."

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