Top 10 World's Most Expensive Coffees That You Must Try
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| Top 10 Most Expensive Coffees in The World |
Coffee is a popular energy-boosting drink that is loved all over the world. The success of coffee chains like Starbucks tells its own tale. Statista.com states that the global market for instant coffee is expected to top $36.3 billion in 2020. And you’re likely one of the reasons for this growth. Here’s how you turn coffee into a global multi-billion business.
There are many reasons why coffee is popular the world over, not the least the coffee myths and legends behind the origins of this beverage. To start, this drink has been accepted by most religions. It became widely used whenever alcohol was banned. Coffee contains caffeine which stimulates the mind and senses. It has a wonderful aroma that energizes the brain. Coffee shops have become popular centers for dating, meetings, and other social and business activities. In fact, coffee houses have been traditional places for social interactions in places like Milan, Greece, Austria, and the Middle East. This BuzzFeed article tells you how coffee is consumed in different ways around the world.
Coffee is one of the biggest exported goods in the world, with major coffee countries exporting millions of coffee beans every year. The farmers work hard to produce and harvest coffee to meet the demands each year, but there are factors that can affect their yield and create unforeseen price changes. Between climate change and labor alone, the price of coffee will also continue to increase as well. While it may be hard to justify spending $6 on a latte, it’s important to remember that there are a lot of reasons why coffee is so expensive.
This article provides details about other most expensive coffees that are priced exorbitantly because of their rare ingredients. Read the list and related info on these coffees and determine whether you have the inclination and budget to try out any of them.
Is coffee expensive?
Have you ever thought about how much you pay per ounce for other specialty-grade beverages like wine, bottled water, and beer? We’re not talking about the cheap stuff like Budweiser, Gallo, or Winco water; we’re talking about the good stuff; a Napa wine, a micro-brew beer, and a Fiji Water compared to high-quality specialty grade coffee.
* One pound of coffee weighs 16 ounces and brews approximately 270 fluid ounces (45, 6 oz. cups.) A 6 oz. serving is considered to be one serving of coffee. However, since most people drink 12 oz. mugs, let’s say there are 22 servings per pound. This calculation evens the playing field a little more. Except when considering fine wine.
Keep in mind that most coffee comes in 12 oz. bags as the new standard. The mark-up on smaller bags is higher. The smaller the package, the higher the price per ounce or gram. When cost comparing, it’s best to calculate how much things cost per ounce, gram, item, serving, etc. When something looks less expensive, check to see how much is in the package! We seem to be easily tricked by clever marketing. This is one of the reasons that Bean Hoppers also offers full pounds of coffee, like the good ‘ol days. The cost per ounce is similar to other coffee subscription services, and it may even get one person through the whole month.
As you can see, specialty coffee is not expensive, even with the increased prices over the past decade. We sometimes pay more for bottled water than specialty-grade coffee brewed at home. But let’s look at why coffee prices increased.
Top 10 Most Expensive Coffees in The World
1. Black Ivory Coffee – Thailand: €900 euros a ½ kg
2. Kopi Luwak Coffee – Indonesia: €300 – €400 euros per kilo
3. Hacienda La Esmeralda – Panama: €200 – €250 euros per kilo
4. St. Helena Coffee – South Atlantic: €150 euros per kilo
5. Molokai Coffee – Hawaii: €100 euros per kilo
6. Fazenda Santa Ines – Brazil: €90 euros per kilo
7. El Injerto – Huehuetenango, Guatemala: €45.10 euros a ½ kilo
8. Jamaican Blue Mountain – Wallenford Estate, Jamaica: €63 euros a ½ kilo
9. Hawaiian Kona coffee: USD 30 to USD 35 for 450g
10. Los Planes coffee - El Salvador: USD 40 for almost 450g
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1. Black Ivory Coffee – Thailand: €900 euros a ½ kg
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| Photo: ventured |
One of the rarest coffees in the world, Black Ivory is also known as elephant dung coffee. Originating from Northern Thailand, it is digested and refined by elephants.
This coffee has a high price due to the unique coffee production method. It yields naturally fermented and sweet coffee beans. The elephants are considered to be family members and are lavished with love and daily baths by their care-givers.
Black Ivory coffee has hints of chocolate, tamarind, and spice, with an ultra smooth finish.
2. Kopi Luwak Coffee – Indonesia: €300 – €400 euros per kilo
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| Photo: craftcoffeeguru |
Considered to be one of the most expensive coffees in the world, Kopi Luwak could well be the most unique! The word kopi means coffee in Indonesian and luwak means civet.
Kopi Luwak comes from Sumatra in Indonesia and is often nicknamed cat poo coffee. That’s because the coffee is processed by the Aisan Palm Civet cat, which eats only the ripest coffee cherries.
The beans ferment in the cat’s stomach and the partially digested beans are then excreted into the cat feces. Plantation workers retrieve the beans and roast them immediately to make civet coffee.
This free range Kopi Luwak coffee comes from the excretions of While cheap coffee can have quite a bitter taste, good quality coffee made from expensive coffee beans will have far more depth of flavor. The civet cats are not caged, and free range Kopi Luwak is of a higher quality as the civets choose which coffee cherries to eat themselves.
Roasted Kopi beans have a complex, sweet flavor with notes of sandalwood, dark chocolate, apricot and plum.
3. Hacienda La Esmeralda – Panama: €200 – €250 euros per kilo
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| Photo: amazon |
This gourmet coffee from Panama comes from the region of Chiriqui in South-West Panama. This mountainous area has several microclimates, which give this Panama coffee a unique flavor. Cool mists slow the coffee cherry ripening, giving a richer taste.
Hacienda La Esmeralda are known for their coffee auctions which often achieve record breaking bids. Hacienda La Esmeralda coffee has won the Best of Panama award several times.
Hacienda La Esmeralda is run by the Peterson Family since 1967. They pride themselves on consistency and precision processing.
Choose from high quality Medium or Dark Roast or Green (unroasted) beans if you prefer to roast your own coffee.
4. St. Helena Coffee – South Atlantic: €150 euros per kilo
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| Photo: saintcooks |
Napoleon Bonaparte was a big fan of this coffee and grew it on the island of St. Helena, that gave it its name. Ever since, the coffee is increased in popularity. The island is situated in the center, of the Atlantic Ocean about 1,200 miles from Africa’s west coast. As a result, shipping costs are high, that’s one of the explanations for the high price.
Grown on the small and relatively obscure island of Saint Helena in the south Atlantic, this coffee is rare and coveted. It comes from a tiny speck on the globe, a British territory where Napoleon was ultimately exiled. Here, green-tipped bourbon beans rule the land, brought over from Yemen (fittingly from the port city otherwise known as Mocha). The Pinot Noir of international coffee, this bean is hard to grow and process and beloved for its nuance and delicacy. Starbucks stole the headlines back in 2016 when it made some coffee from Saint Helena beans, hitting specialty aisles for about $80 per 8.8-ounce bag.
5. Molokai Coffee – Hawaii: €100 euros per kilo
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| Photo: giesen |
Extraordinary quality coffees are sourced from the Hawaiian archipelago’s rich and magical islands. The plantation on the beautiful island of Molokai is where they grow and harvest their products. The farm in Kualapu’u is blessed with a great climate and volcanic ground allowing many to grow an excellent and uncommon coffee.
The Molokai Muleskinner coffee is medium dark roasted, whereas the Maulani Estate coffee is medium roasted.
The Maulani Estate coffee has a full body, a slight acidity, and chocolate undertones. Herbal notes are among the dynamic aromas. Molokai Style Espresso and a vanilla-infused Molokai are also popular.
 Top 10 Largest Coffee Producing Countries In The World Coffee beans, the raw material of the coffee beverage, have to grow somewhere. Which country produces the most coffee in the world right now? |
6. Fazenda Santa Ines – Brazil: €90 euros per kilo
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| Photo: utopiancoffee |
Next up, we have Fazenda Santa Ines, a Brazilian coffee bean that costs approximately $50 per pound.
It’s grown near the base of the Mantiquera mountains in Brazil and is well known for its fruity and sweet flavor.
With over 100 years of coffee growing experience behind it, Fazenda Santa Ines has managed to develop a large following around the world, making it easy to justify its $50 per pound price tag.
It placed eighth in the 2009 Cup of Excellence competition and critics say that it’s an outstanding cup and excellent value.
7. El Injerto – Huehuetenango, Guatemala: €45.10 euros a ½ kilo
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| Photo: toasty.coffee |
Finca El Injerto received the highest price of any Cup of Perfection coffee at sale in 2013, with over $103,000 charged per lot. Japanese and South Korean buyers bought nearly 90% of the top-10 lots in Cup of Quality, pushing up prices for Guatemalan coffee in specific and El Injerto’s in general.
This Guatemalan coffee benefits from a high-altitude setting of more than 5,500 feet above sea level. It comes from a single farm of coffee grafted over from what used to be a sugarcane plot. Micro lots of this coffee often go to auction, fetching figures to the tune of more than $500 per pound. Like Kona and some of the other more esteemed coffee names in the world, Finca El Injerto is often used in roaster’s labels but isn’t always made with coffee grown in this coveted Central American pocket (or, just a small percentage of what ends up in the package).
8. Jamaican Blue Mountain – Wallenford Estate, Jamaica: €63 euros a ½ kilo
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| Photo: jambluecoffee |
One of the most famous coffees in the world, Jamaica Blue is expensive because its in high demand. Fresh from the mountains of Jamaica, this rich, aromatic coffee will remind you of tropical vacations.
To be classed as Jamaican Blue coffee, it must come from a recognized region in the Blue Mountain region of Jamaica. The Jamaican Blue Mountains produce the world’s highest mountain grown coffee at over 7000 feet.
Jamaica Blue Mountain Wallenford is one of the best varieties, with an intense flavor and balanced acidity. 100% Certified Blue Mountain Coffee by the Jamaican Department of Agriculture, this medium roast coffee from the Wallenford Estate has notes of chocolate and orange peel.
9. Hawaiian Kona coffee: USD 30 to USD 35 for 450g
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| Photo: royalkonacoffee |
Hawaii is known for its light yet delicate Kona Coffee. Grown on the slopes of the Big Island volcanoes, Kona coffee cherries are handpicked.
To be termed as a Kona coffee, the coffee beans have to come directly from the Kona district of Hawaii which offers the most favourable conditions for them to flourish. The volcanic slopes of Hawaii’s Big island receive adequate sunlight, wind and drizzles, contributing to its rich growth.
Pure Hawaiian Kona coffee has a smooth taste and light yet unique flavours with a delicate aroma. They are generally bought from single estates instead of retail markets to avoid any mixing with local coffee. The ‘Extra Fancy’ comprises the highest grade in the Type I while the Hawaiian Kona Peaberry coffee forms the Type II tier.
The expensive coffee beans are of a rare variety and can cost around USD 30 to USD 35 for 450g. It is best to purchase the pure Kona coffee close to the roast date to obtain maximum flavours and original taste.
10. Los Planes coffee - El Salvador: USD 40 for almost 450g
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| Photo: copperhorsecoffee |
The Finca Los Planes coffee is cultivated on a family owned farm belonging to Sergio Ticas Reyes in El Salvador. Initially only the Typica variety was grown but in 1966 Reyes introduced the Bourbón and Pacamara varieties. The coffee from the Los Planes farm is processed in the family’s wet mill and treated under the gourmet preparation protocol which requires fresh and clean water from natural spring, milling and sun drying on patios.
With modernisation, the farm is able to cater to a large market. Such is its popularity and demand that the coffee won second place at the 2006 Cup of Excellence and sixth place in 2011.
Though quite an expensive coffee, the Los Planes boasts of loyal customers from all over the world and has unique flavours like brown sugar threads and tangerine with caramel. The El Salvador plains, bordering Guatemala and Honduras have the most favourable conditions for coffee plantations and hence are some of the best coffee producers in the world.
Why Is Coffee So Expensive?The Quality of Coffee Has ChangedThe quality of coffee that we see today is incomparable to the quality that was once acceptable, which was almost like sludge in a cup. As coffee became more popular, the demand for higher quality coffee increased. With the increase of coffee quality and flavor, the cost of coffee inevitably increased from these changes. When coffee was first popular, it was farmed for quantity over quality. As the change for better-tasting coffee started, farmers started to change where and how they farmed. Some of the best coffee in the world is grown in specific areas, creating premium coffee beans that can’t be reproduced unless grown there. Labor Costs and Other ExpensesGetting coffee from the lands of the coffee farms to the barista handing you your tall mocha latte is no easy feat, with hundreds of different business and labor costs involved. By the time your coffee has reached your hands, many people have picked, processed, and handled the coffee beans used to make your morning joe. With the cost of labor steadily rising, the wholesale cost of coffee will inevitably rise as well. The slightest increase in wholesale coffee can cause massive inflation in coffee prices. However, wholesale prices can’t go any lower, or the farmers will not be able to afford to farm it any longer. Hopefully, the cost of coffee will not increase anytime soon. Supply and DemandAs with any market, there are huge trends in the coffee industry that can cause a disruption in the supply and demand chain. When a new coffee trend picks up, the demand can increase seemingly overnight. As long as the supply can meet the demands, the financial effects of coffee trends tend to go unnoticed. However, with most trends that involve coffee shops, the result is usually an overpriced cup of coffee that leaves you wondering why it’s so expensive. Top-shelf, premium quality coffee is highly sought-after, which is why it’s often far more expensive than the average bag of coffee. A lot of other factors go into premium-grade coffee besides supply and demand, but it still impacts the luxurious coffee brands as well. Environment and Climate ChangeThe environmental impacts have been devastating to coffee farmers, especially from the negative effects of climate change. Farmers are scrambling to find new places to grow coffee plants, while multi-generational farming businesses have closed down due to the changing climate. Because of these environmental issues, it has majorly impacted the overall coffee exportation and caused coffee prices to increase. One of the worst cases of environmental factors that impacted a country’s coffee yield is Haiti, a country that once dominated the coffee industry. While there are other reasons that almost completely halted any coffee exportation, Haiti suffered multiple earthquakes and climate-based events that devastated the farmlands. |
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