The problem with sampling something so rare and bespoke, is that you’re acceptance bar is raised to lofty and unachievable heights. It’s a treat and something to be revered, but then you have to go back to normality and your usual, mundane existence. Like with coffee. Most people are happy with their morning brew and don’t give a monkeys about the bean origin or regional plantation, just as long as the dark liquid flows fast and the potency of a pre-office caffeine oomph kicks-in. Yet there are those who seek greater fulfilment from their java. Coffee aficionados requiring the rare and refined, who demand luxury in their Arabica. For them, the terroir, species and roasting is pivotal, and coffee is altogether a higher calling: an event and experience to be savoured and enjoyed. For they are true connoisseurs of the bean. Kopi Luwak Ruby and Kopi Luwak Diamond are the world’s rarest and most expensive coffee. Yes, yes, but how much is it? Well, it’s more than you spend in a month at Starbucks. Even if you are ordering a “Grande” every time. As there are only so many kilograms of the coffee produced each year, the quality and rarity is reflected in the price. So cue alarm bells: the Ruby costs £6,200 per kg and the Diamond £31,000 per kg. Or as a simpler conversation, it costs around £300 per cup. The special brew, known as ‘civet coffee’ because of the Asian palm civet cat that eats and digests the beans, is produced on a small plantation in the Gayo region in Sumatra, Indonesia. The wild cats roam the land and eat the coffee berries. Their digestion of the berry reduces the acidity and creates a smooth finish upon exit, so to speak. The beans are then hand-collected and triple-sorted, and thus regarded as the world’s highest standard Grad A beans. Coffee has become huge business in the UK and the demand for Ruby and Diamond Kopi Luwak is reflected in Bespoke Beverages’ work in supplying the coffee, also known as ‘black gold’, to the UK’s coffee elite. Company founders, Richard Hardwick and Neil Reilly, have over 20 year’s experience in the High Net Worth market, working with diamonds, watches and luxury travel. With rare and sort-after coffee in mind, they travelled to Sumatra to locate the original Kopi Luwak plantations, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the somewhat odd natural process of gathering the coveted Arabica beans. Ultimately, coffee remains a relatively new beverage boom in the UK, yet the rise in demand has soared with further stores opening nationwide, even the word “barista” has become part of the English vernacular. We’ve become a nation obsessed. Dangerous compulsion have formed and there are more Nespresso, Nescafe and De’Longhi machines in kitchens, more people than ever ordering espresso, macchiato, latte, cappuccino, flat whites, lungos, black eye, breve, café au lait. Coffee houses have become as familiar on the high-street as Primark and Poundland. For a taste of Kopi Luwak however, it’s not so easy to locate. Interested parties can visit the Bespoke Beverages website to make an order. Naturally all forms of credit card are accepted. The product is hand-delivered by a Master Coffee Brewer in either carbon fibre or ebony sycamore casing designed by Elie Bleu of Paris, and they’ll personally guide you through the grinding and roasting procedure, which is set-up like a chemistry experiment and requires the coffee grind to drip-feed over several minutes. And for the taste? Of course it’s strong in both aroma and intensity, but there’s a fruity-roundness and smooth finish, with none of the burnt bean or sharp aftertaste that you find from high-street brands. The very preparation, with its laboratory-like apparatus and the waiting process of the drip-feed, creates an air of sophistication and prepares you for something very special. There’s a gentle aroma of caramel and you’ll discover a rare sensation in which the taste is just as good as the smell, something often lacking from the store-bought coffee. It’s a satisfying sensation and the best coffee around. Is it worth the hefty price-tag? Well, it’s all relevant on earnings and your preference for a cup of hot Joe, but it’s a damn fine brew, well-researched and expertly-crafted; there’s no escaping that. Source: uk.brash.com/the-most-expensive-coffee-in-the-world/