Thai Hotel Brews Up Coffee From Elephant Dung

[webfact]

Thai hotel brews up coffee from elephant dung

BANGKOK, Oct 25, 2012 (AFP) - For those who like their coffee with a strong nose Thailand could be the ideal destination, after a blend made from elephant dung was put on sale by an upmarket hotel chain.

The Black Ivory blend, made from coffee beans digested and excreted by Thai elephants, is billed as producing a particularly smooth cup.

But it is not cheap, with Anantara Hotels saying the "naturally refined" coffee costs a staggering $1,100 per kilogram -- making it one of the most expensive blends in the world.

"Research indicates that during digestion, the enzymes of the elephant break down coffee protein," the Thai-based hotel group, which is selling the pungent brew at around $50 for two cups, said in a statement sent to AFP Thursday.

"Since protein is one of the main factors responsible for bitterness in coffee, less protein means almost no bitterness."

Once the elephants have digested the coffee berries, the beans are picked out of their dung by mahouts -- their trainers -- and then sun-dried.

The process is carried out at the hotel's elephant rescue centre in Thailand's north where 30 of the beasts live along with mahouts and their families.

Black Ivory is not the first novelty blend to hit the market in recent years. Coffee passed through the civet, a tree-dwelling mammal in the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, sells for a similar price.

One New York coffee shop sells the civet coffee for $748 a kilogram.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-10-25

[MJCM]

You are sh!tting me ?

[Mosha]

Apparently the most expensive coffee in the Philippines has passed through the gut of a civet cat.

Edit oops missed the bottom paragraph of th OP 555

Edited October 25, 2012 by Mosha

[h90]

You are sh!tting me ?

That is Bullsh!t aeh no it is Elephantsh!t...

[MJCM]

Apparently the most expensive coffee in the Philippines has passed through the gut of a civet cat.

Edit oops missed the bottom paragraph of th OP 555

Aahh the famous Kopi_Luwak (http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Kopi_Luwak). First getting done by cats and now by elephants. That's an improvement (size wise that is )

Edited October 25, 2012 by MJCM

[sirchai]

I prefer my coffee digested by father in law's buffaloes. Still looking for some though guys to pick the beans out after the buffaloes had released them. Please page me, can't pay for visa and work permit, but Lao Khao and rice is free.

Two cups of our coffee will be around $ 0.50.

A good chance for those ho want to prepare themselves for the rice harvest soon.--.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Is this the start of the "World kitchen" campaign?

[Tywais]

"The coffee is ground by hand and brewed table side in a four-minute process. The fragrance is said to be floral and chocolate and the taste "milk chocolate, nutty, earthy with hints of spice and red berries."

abcnews

[Payboy]

Just a bit more expensive than the Swiss White elephant that shits out those Nespresso capsules.

[Soupdragon]

Jeeze you would have to be a real connoisseur to be able to tell if indeed a real Thai elephant had been used in the process or a fake African one.

[Fozfromoz]

I like my coffee, but I will have to take their word for it that it tastes good. Wonder how much the poor bastards get paid that have to sift it out, Looks like a fair margin there for someone. Only the elephant and the mahout seem to do all the work.

Edited October 25, 2012 by Fozfromoz

[brabo2180]

Reminds me of the movie "The Bucket List" with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.

Believe it was monkey shit in that movie.

[MJCM]

Reminds me of the movie "The Bucket List" with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.

Believe it was monkey shit in that movie.

No it wasn't monkey shit, it was Kopi Luwak

[Naam]

Jeeze you would have to be a real connoisseur to be able to tell if indeed a real Thai elephant had been used in the process or a fake African one.

this is where the copycats will come in cheating. and sooner or later they will even use sea elephants for their fake business!

by the way, the coffee-enzyme-treated-bean-shitting-process started many years ago using monkeys.

[MJCM]

First the monkey, then a "cat", then the elephant what's next ? A Whale ?

[davejones]

I've just eaten some coffee beans. You're all welcome to pop around for a cup of coffee tomorrow.

[bigbamboo]

Is this a new concept only I always wondered how Beer Chang got it's name?

[Asiantravel]

Anyone who pays through the nose for coffee that has passed through an a*se must have more money than sense

[dickyknee]

"The coffee is ground by hand and brewed table side in a four-minute process. The fragrance is said to be floral and chocolate and the taste "milk chocolate, nutty, earthy with hints of spice and red berries."

abcnews

I heard it tastes like crap.

[lizardtongue]

Apparently sixteen to eighteen hours, or nearly 80% of an elephant’s day is spent feeding. Elephants consume grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots, not so sure coffee beans are a part of their natural diet?

This being Thailand for some reason I have this vivid image of a mahout pushing coffee beans up the elephants ass just so it can be said that the beans pass through the elephant?

Tell me this can't happen?

[jbrain]

Why Thailand can never have some original idea of themselves?

[sunshine51]

Is this a new concept only I always wondered how Beer Chang got it's name?

Fermented Elephant Piss.

[sunshine51]

I've heard of eating <deleted> (coprophagia) but drinking <deleted>

by proxy....Hmmmmmmmm. Kopi O Kosong for me any

day and please...leave out the shit.

[Payboy]

Does this mean that we get only single espresso shots when the elephant is constipated?

[jerrysteve]

Now that is a shit load of coffee.... Picking Coffee Beans out of Elephant Pies has to be an artform all in itself but, I am afraid one day mechanization will take over.... and all those hand pickers will be out of a job. I bet Starbucks will soon have it on their menu too. AND once again we have the birth of a new Hub. HUB of Elephant Dung Coffee.

IF the elephants ever get WIND or a Whiff of this, there will surely be a revolt and a Stampede.

Edited October 25, 2012 by jerrysteve

[jerrysteve]

The Thais suprised me.. Mixing in coffee beans with the Elephant feed and letting it pass thru the Elephants digestive system as Dung Pies, and then using highly skilled labor to pick those semi processed beans out those Elephant Dung pies to brew coffee is some really Creative

Shit.

They may even think about trying other types of animals shit too...but lets hope they don't carry it too far; if you know what I mean...so make sure when you

begin to Poop in those new sit down toilets that everything goes down the pipe, even if you have to wait until the tank refills itself to flush it again. Lets just hope they don't experiment on themselves...you know Thais, anything for a baht.

Edited October 25, 2012 by jerrysteve

[KRS1]

First the monkey, then a "cat", then the elephant what's next ? A Whale ?

farangs are next, some will do anything to stay here...including teaching english.

There's going to be a new meaning to "Irish Blend"...

time to go look for a street elephant.

[DrTuner]

I wasn't aware of Thailands coffee industry before this bit of news. Having moved to tea a while back, I won't be going back as it might taste like crap. Internet is such a wonderful source of information.

[dickyknee]

First the monkey, then a "cat", then the elephant what's next ? A Whale ?

farangs are next, some will do anything to stay here...including teaching english.

There's going to be a new meaning to "Irish Blend"...

time to go look for a street elephant.

nah, they'll be replacing pingpong balls with coffee beans.

[catweazle]

Guys! I just swallowed about 250g of coffee beans (Blue Mountain) and expect them to meet sunlight again on Sunday morning, 28th of October 2012 around 07:00 when I do my usual early morning dump... Auction starts at 5 USD per gram... Any bidders?

Edited October 25, 2012 by catweazle