The most expensive coffee in the world is also the one with a lot of controversy surrounding it. The most expensive coffee is Kopi Luwak Coffee, which sells for $349.99 per pound.

Where the Most Expensive Coffee Originates

The Kopi Luwak Coffee beans are actually excreted from an animal called the palm civet. It turns out that palm civets, which are a type of cat, like to consume the red coffee cherries, which contain coffee beans. The cats carefully select only the ripest, reddest cherries, so in a sense, they have naturally refined coffee bean pickers for the most expensive coffee in the world. In the digestive process, the berries' inner seeds are the actual coffee beans that are not consumed and are passed through their system. The cat's stomach enzyme on the coffee bean gives it a bitter, complex taste that can be considered a natural fermentation process. After the civet defecates, the local pickers will collect the beans from the dung and send them to be washed to remove the impurities. The supplies are limited, which also contributes to making this the most expensive coffee.

The green coffee beans are then packed and sent to specialty roasters such as Volcanica Gourmet Coffee. The roasting process significantly reduces the bitterness of the bean and retains the complex flavors. The beans are safe for consumption since they have undergone thorough processing and washing before packing.

Tasting the Most Expensive Coffee

The Kopi Luwak Coffee is rich and exotic in flavor. It also possesses a musty, earthy taste with a slight hint of syrupy smoothness. It contains an aroma rich and robust and the most expensive coffee is incredibly full-bodied, almost syrupy. It's thick with a touch of chocolate and lingers on the tongue with a long, clean aftertaste.