Kape Alamid

I love coffee and I usually pay the usual $1.55 for a tall drip in Starbucks, but this type of coffee - Kape Alamid (aka Civet coffee) goes for $30-$50 a cup, much like the size of cup in the picture above. Now, I keep an open mind...leading me to the question, "WTF are in the beans that makes this coffee so expensive?"

Simple. It's shit. Feces.

Small weasel-like marsupials (Civet), known in the Philippines to belong in the family of Paradoxurus Philippinensis, consume red coffee cherries that are at their ripest and sweetest. When the Civet consumes the red coffee cherries, they only digest the sweet part of the cherry leaving the beans indigested. During the digestion of the cherry, enzymes breakdown the protein that makes the coffee beans bitter. Because the beans exit the Civet in a defecated manner, the beans are still partially covered with the sweet cherry. This sweetness combined with the reduced bitterness forms a smooth, delicate flavor.

These beans are, of course, thoroughly cleaned, but delicately roasted to keep the complex flavors alive. Producers say that the beans are sanitary, free of any e-coli bacteria. Health records show no illness or conditions contributed by this type of coffee, proving it entirely safe and deemed enjoyable. Supplies are ridiculously low (1000 pounds produced entirely in the world per year) making the demand just as high, thus justifying $100-$600USD per pound.