A cup of coffee for €10, without Kopi Luwak

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For years, coffee enthusiasts have talked about the world's most expensive coffee, known as Kopi Luwak, a bean that is eaten and pooped by a civet and costing $600 (€455.73) for a pound of beans or $50 (€37.98) per cup. Now there are two more palatable and affordable rivals.

The alternatives are Aida Grand Reserve beans from El Salvador ($13/€9.89 for a cup) available at a Baltimore coffee shop Spiro and Nekisse beans, "'dried on a raised African drying bed' (so they don't sit on the ground). Roasted on site, they yield 'flavors of apricot, pineapple, bergamot, kiwi and lime. The deeper tones are levels of chocolate, and the finish is super clean," wrote Grub Street, a food news blog from New York Magazine. A cup of Nekisse runs $12 (€9.11) at Brooklyn's Café Grumpy.

Are we still talking coffee? Both of these beans when brewed are described and priced like wines.

Supposedly adding milk and sugar is a faux pas - akin to diluting the black gold flavor. Although many customers had this to say about the flavor value to the New York Post:

- "'I've spent $12 on a cocktail, but I'd be reticent to pay that much for a cup of coffee,' said Whitney Reuling, 25, after taking a taste. 'It's good - but I can't taste the difference. My palate is not at an advanced level for coffee - a $2.50 cup is fine.'"

- Kate Weinberg, 24, told the Post she could definitely taste the extra $10."There is a huge difference over a $2 cup - a sweetness and a tartness to it," she said. "I would not spend $12 on a cup of coffee, but it is good."

Sources:

http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2010/05/coffee_is_officially_as_expens.html

http://www.nypost.com/iphone/story.php?feed=news.xml&id=4.2.1165055769&pos=news_topstories_07