Short Answer: The most expensive coffee is Black Ivory Coffee, costing more than $500 a pound. This is because of the arduous process that comes with making this coffee.
Coffee is one of the most popular energy-boosting beverages, and it is enjoyed and consumed worldwide. The success of coffee businesses like Starbucks speaks for itself.
The global market for instant coffee reached $36.3 billion last 2020, according to Statista.com – and we are all the reasons for this expansion. Our passion for coffee grew into a multibillion-dollar worldwide business.
With the growing popularity of the drink, coffee outlets have become popular centers for meetings, dating, and other social and business gatherings. In fact, coffee shops are traditional spots for social interactions.
Above all, big businesses such as Starbucks and Seattle’s Best, to mention a few, have done an outstanding job of selling coffee. People are now willing to pay a significant portion of their earnings to drink this beverage.
We’ve all seen long lines outside coffee shops where people are eager to get their favorite coffee drink before starting their day. It’s no surprise that Starbucks’ overall sales in 2017 were $22.39 billion.
In this post, we’ll learn about the world’s most expensive coffees, which are exorbitantly priced due to their unique ingredients or production procedures. Who knows, maybe you’ll be tempted to buy and try them or better yet have already tasted one of them, so let’s get started.
10 Most Expensive Coffees in the World
As promised, we’ll do a countdown of the 10 most expensive coffees and find out why they are included at the top.
10. Hawaiian Kona Coffee – $34/pound
The Hawaiian Kona Coffee has a distinct flavor and taste. It is on the list of the world’s most expensive coffees because it’s made from a very rare variety of beans. Aside from that, this coffee is in scarce supply, indicating that most of its dealers employ a blend of 10% Kona coffee and 90% a cheaper kind.
If you want to get the entire Hawaiian coffee experience, make sure to look for one that says 100% Kona coffee.
I have a comprehensive article about Hawaiian Kona Coffee if you’d like to know more about it. You can click right here.
9. Los Planes Coffee – $40/pound
Los Planes Coffee is farmed in El Salvador by the family of Sergio Ticas Reyes. This coffee also placed second in the 2006 Cup of Excellence and sixth in 2011.
Tangerine with caramel and brown sugar threads are 2 of its most dominant flavors. Though the price of this coffee is high, many coffee fans are willing to pay in order to experience the refreshing taste of the drink.
8. Starbucks Quadriginoctuple Frap – $47.30/cup
Starbucks’ most expensive coffee is the Quadriginoctuple Frap. It commands such a high price because it’s made in limited stores and contains a variety of uniquely flavored ingredients such as caramel ice cream, 48 mocha frappuccinos with vanilla chips, two bananas, protein powder, caramel blues top, pizza powder, strawberry, and soybean mocha mattress.
People say the price is well worth it because you undoubtedly feel invigorated and rejuvenated after tasting this unusual drink.
7. Fazenda Santa Ines – $50/pound
The highlight of Fazenda Santa Ines’ coffee is its sweet and fruity flavor. It’s grown at the bottom of the Mantiquera mountains in Brazil, and its production process dates back to more than a century.
This pricey coffee is patronized by many people around the world as they’re drawn to this flavorful coffee’s ingredients of different tasty fruits.
6. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee – More than $50/pound
Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is produced in the blue mountains of Jamaica (thus, its name) at an altitude of approximately 5,000 feet. This area gets heavy rainfall, and therefore, it receives an abundant water supply.
This coffee isn’t bitter like regular coffee and is known for its mild taste.
Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is one of the most popular brands of single-origin coffees, and if you’re interested to know more about this kind of coffee, you can check out my in-depth article right here.
5. Saint Helena Coffee – $79/pound
Napoleon Bonaparte was a big fan of this coffee, which he grew on the island of St. Helena, which gave the coffee its name. This coffee has grown in popularity since then.
St. Helena is located amid the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 1,200 miles from Africa’s west coast.
One of the reasons for the high price of this coffee is the hefty cost of transportation. True fans of this brand, on the other hand, are more than willing to pay the premium price to enjoy the drink’s high-quality, aromatic caramel flavor with undertones of citrus.
4. Kopi Luwak – $160/pound
Asian palm civets make Kopi Luwak coffee in Indonesia. These animals eat the coffee cherries and ferment them during the digestion process.
The coffee beans are then excreted in their feces, retrieved, and processed. The enzymes released by the civet during digestion give the coffee its exquisite and distinct flavor. As a result, civet coffee is another name for this coffee.
Are you interested in knowing more about Kopi Luwak? Check out this post I wrote over here.
3. Hacienda La Esmeralda – $350/pound
Hacienda La Esmeralda coffee has earned numerous first-place prizes in international coffee competitions over the years.
It’s grown on the slopes of Mount Baru in Panama, in the shade of guava trees. With its rich taste and fantastic flavor, this one-of-a-kind coffee delight provides a once-in-a-lifetime experience for coffee connoisseurs. It commanded a whopping price of $350.25 per pound at a recent auction.
2. Finca El Injerto Coffee – $500/pound
Finca El Injerto Coffee is expensive because it’s made with extremely rare, rich, and small beans. The coffee’s quality is then improved by washing the beans in a single channel and breaking them twice.
Despite its high price of $500 a pound, it’s a famous coffee brand that coffee connoisseurs favor all over the world.
1. Black Ivory Coffee – More than $500/pound
The Black Ivory Coffee Company in Thailand prepares Black Ivory Coffee from Arabica beans.
It’s created in the same way as Kopi Luwak coffee – by elephants who ingest Arabica coffee beans and then ferment them during their digestion process. Their stomach acids break down the protein in the beans, giving the coffee a robust flavor.
Because just a tiny amount of beans are accessible at any given time, Black Ivory Coffee is both unique and expensive. A cup of this coffee costs roughly $50, making it the most expensive coffee in the world right now.
The following table summarizes the most expensive coffees and their prices:
| Coffee Name | Price per pound |
| Black Ivory Coffee | More than $500/pound |
| Finca El Injerto Coffee | $500/pound |
| Hacienda La Esmeralda | More than $500/pound |
| Kopi Luwak | $160/pound |
| Saint Helena Coffee | $79/pound |
| Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee | More than $50/pound |
| Fazenda Santa Ines | $50/pound |
| Starbucks Quadriginoctuple Frap | $47.30/cup |
| Los Planes Coffee | $40/pound |
| Hawaiian Kona Coffee | $34/pound |
You can learn more about the world’s most expensive coffees by watching the video below.
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To sum it all up
We now understand why these coffees are so expensive: rare coffee beans, the best growing climate in mountainous regions, a century-old growing process, and, of course, animal-ingested and digested beans.
Of all the kinds of expensive coffees listed, I could only taste Kopi Luwak so far. I was hesitant to try it because it was made from civet poo, but my curious side won.
And you know what? It’s totally worth it since the flavor of Kopi Luwak is one-of-a-kind: earthy, smooth, rich, and chocolaty.
Here are the top ten most expensive coffees out there:
- Black Ivory Coffee – More than $500/pound
- Finca El Injerto Coffee – $500/pound
- Hacienda La Esmeralda – $350/pound
- Kopi Luwak – $160/pound
- Saint Helena Coffee – $79/pound
- Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee – More than $50/pound
- Fazenda Santa Ines – $50/pound
- Starbucks Quadriginoctuple Frap – $47.30/cup
- Los Planes Coffee – $40/pound
- Hawaiian Kona Coffee – $34/pound
I know those coffees mentioned above are expensive, and most will never get the opportunity to try one, but do keep your hopes up. Who knows, maybe you’ll be able to try 1 or 2 of those on the list. Just maintain an open mind and an adventurous palate.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed going through the list of the most expensive coffees in the world as much as I did.
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Other Articles
- Check out the visual story version of this article
- Best Coffees for Beginners (Step Into the Coffee World)
- The Best Coffee on Amazon (Best Picks!)
- Best Coffee Subscriptions to Try (Are They Worth It?)
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