The World's 5 Most Unusual Coffees: Flavors Changed by the Touch of Animals
The world of coffee isn't limited to classic flavors; sometimes, it offers unique and extraordinary flavors that emerge from unexpected collaborations between nature and animals. These specialty coffees undergo chemical changes by interacting with the oral and gastric juices of five different animals. This reduces acidity and bitterness, enhances fruity flavors, and leaves a velvety aftertaste.
Are you ready? Let's take a look at these unique coffees one by one!
1. Bat Spit Coffee
Produced in Costa Rica and Madagascar, this coffee is among the world's most expensive. As bats consume the flesh of coffee berries on trees, they tear the bean membrane with their sharp teeth and contaminate the coffee bean with their oral secretions. These secretions cause a chemical change in the bean's structure. Farm workers collect these special coffee beans, disinfect them, and prepare them for consumption.
Bat spit coffee is sold as either raw beans or roasted. It's generally described as a low-acid coffee with floral and fruity aromas. Because its production is relatively low, it's a highly prized coffee.
2. Monkey Spit Coffee
Monkeys living in some coffee plantations in Taiwan and India are particularly fond of ripe coffee beans. After consuming the pulp, they thoroughly chew and spit out the beans. The membranes, torn by the monkeys' teeth and substances in their mouthwash, cause the beans to undergo a chemical transformation. These beans are collected by farm workers, disinfected, and then sold as raw or roasted coffee.
Monkey spit coffee is said to be characterized by its vanilla, citrus, and chocolate flavors, its low acidity, and its easy-drinking properties. This makes it a valuable coffee, though its production is quite limited.
3. Kopi Luwak Coffee
Despite being carnivorous, a species of civet living in Indonesia devours coffee berries with great gusto. Ripe coffee berries swallowed by cats begin to ferment with acid in their stomachs. The stomach digests the pulp and expels the seeds along with the feces. The seeds, which ferment in the stomach fluids and intestines, undergo chemical changes. Farm workers collect the feces, sort the coffee beans, and disinfect them.
Kopi Luwak, sold raw or roasted, is among the world's most expensive coffees. However, there are serious ethical issues surrounding its production. Some farm owners turn these cats into commercial slaves, feeding them only coffee berries despite their carnivorous nature. These cats, living in cages in unsanitary conditions, quickly become ill. Despite the outcry of animal rights activists, these commercial practices, which tear animals from their natural habitats, sadly continue.
Kopi Luwak coffee is described as easy to drink, with low acidity and aromas of hazelnut, toast, and dark chocolate. It's also a valuable coffee because it's produced in such small quantities.
4. Black Ivory Coffee
Black Ivory coffee, one of Thailand's most expensive coffees, is made from elephant dung. Because elephants naturally dislike coffee berries, they are encouraged to consume them by adding them to their favorite foods, rice and bananas. While the flesh of the coffee berry dissolves in the elephant's stomach, the beans remain. Fermentation with stomach fluids causes chemical changes in the beans. The coffee beans, expelled with elephant dung, are meticulously cleaned and disinfected by farm workers.
Black Ivory coffee offers a low-acid flavor profile dominated by chocolate, caramel, and cigar flavors. Its production is relatively low, making it a valuable coffee.
5. Wild Jacu Coffee
The jacu is a large bird native to Brazil that feeds on ripe coffee berries. The jacu swallows the fruit, the flesh dissolving in its stomach, but the coffee beans remain. The beans undergo fermentation in the stomach juices, leading to chemical changes. The beans, excreted in the feces, are disinfected and processed by workers.
Wild Jacu coffee is described as having low acidity and a light taste, with aromas of molasses, milk chocolate, and anise. Like other animal-sourced coffees, it is produced in very small quantities and is considered a highly prized coffee.
These extraordinary coffees demonstrate once again just how diverse and full of flavors the coffee world is, waiting to be discovered. Each one offers a unique experience for coffee lovers, with its unique production process and flavor profile.