See other Miscellaneous Articles
Title: Coffee beans harvested from elephant poop a hit in Asia
Source:
[None]
URL Source: [None]
Published: Jun 16, 2015
Author: staff
Post Date: 2015-06-16 21:27:17 by Tatarewicz
Keywords: None
Views: 209
Comments: 2
Want... Coffee beans excreted by elephants are currently the toast of high-end hotels in Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong, according to the Chinese-language Taiyuan Evening News. After a previous craze for coffee beans passed by civets, a new craze for coffee beans harvested from elephant droppings has drawn new attention. These beans are particularly expensive, with one cup costing US$13. In times of drought, elephants will actively seek out coffee beans; however, they have to eat 33 kilograms of coffee beans to produce 1 kg of usable beans in their movements, hence the prohibitive pricing. He says that elephants often move their bowels while bathing in the river, which means that many of the coffee beans are lost. Blake Dinkin, the 44-year-old Canadian founder of Black Ivory Coffee, the company that produces the coffee, said that he had previously thought about harvesting beans digested by cats, lions or giraffes, but he finally settled on elephants. He says this is because elephants in Southeast Asia eat coffee beans during times of drought. His company is located in a remote region near Thailand's border with Myanmar and Laos, a place more associated with opium production than coffee. Producing the coffee beans hasn't been as easy as Dinkin had imagined, as he spent ten years before seeing any real success. He said he originally thought that he could just feed good quality coffee beans to elephants and harvest what came out the other end. It proved not to be so simple. Dinkin said after the beans are ingested by the elephant, it takes about 15-70 hours for the coffee to be digested. During that time the elephant's stomach acids are breaking down the protein found in [the bean]. The protein is one of the factors responsible for bitterness, and less protein means a less bitter coffee, he said. Dinkin said that as elephants are herbivores, the fermentation process that occurs infuses fruit, malt and grass flavors into the coffee. Because it is so hard to obtain, every kilogram is worth US$1,880. The company donates 8% of sales back to the elephant foundation as well as contributing to the wages of elephant carers. The coffee is currently only available at high-end hotels in Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong. However a new harvest will be ready in August, and will supply prime locations in Paris, Zurich, Copenhagen and Moscow.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
Clearly, they need to diaper the pachyderms.
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
Good for coffee beans, good for the country .. But they don't have to go all the way to Africa to get it. Just head out to your closed congressional office .. U.S. Constitution - Article IV, Section 4: NO BORDERS + NO LAWS = NO COUNTRY
#2. To: Tatarewicz, lod (#0)
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest