As artisanal coffee continues to become more popular, it's not uncommon to hear customers griping about how their once $2 cup has now become $7. Little do they know, there are experiences out there so rarefied and unique that it blows the average artisanal cuppa out of the water. Below are seven luxury coffee experiences - ranging from bespoke espresso machines to traveling coffee conceirges - for the discerning coffee lover who's not afraid to spend.
Gourmet Coffee on the World’s Most Expensive Flight
Singapore Airlines offers high-end air travel in their new Suite Class, which recently debuted to passgeners looking for the best the friendly skies have to offer. These Suite Class flights include gourmet cuisine, double beds, and private cabins that give the flyer privacy and all the cabin space that is missed when flying coach.
During the flight, your personal chef will brew you a cup of one of the most expensive coffees on the market: Jamaican Blue Mountain. This exclusive coffee often retails for around $50 per pound, and is flavorful and well-balanced. As your coffee is brewed, your chef will give a detailed background on the coffee, the flavors, and how to properly enjoy.
$32,000 per ticket
Following the Coffee Bean From Plant to Cup
Costa Rica’s Finca Rosa Blanca is a combination coffee farm and spa experience in the beautiful tropical highlands outside of San Jose. This celebrated small and exclusive getaway is the perfect private romantic retreat, with less than a dozen rooms on site. Each room includes Jacuzzi jet baths, king-sized beds and private verandas overseeing the Costa Rican mountainside.
Because this hotel is located on an active coffee plantation, you can walk around and explore the coffee growing process while drinking coffee that is grown, harvested, and roasted right on premises. True coffee aficionados will fall in love with seeing the start-to-finish process of how coffee is made.
Ranges from $250 to $550 per night.
Rare Coffee Subscription with Personalized Tastings
The Cup of Luxury Club is an elite coffee subscription club that offers a variety of high-quality coffees from all over the world, including the famed Kopi Luwak coffee from Sumatra. The coffees featured by the club are chosen by a board of 35 sommeliers, world-class chefs, and coffee connoisseurs who will reject all coffees that don’t score a perfect 100 on their personalized scale.
The “Ultimate” package raises the bar by offering two one-pound bags of coffee per month, private tasting parties with Chef Bryan-David Scott, VIP tasting and travel opportunities, concierge membership, and access to rare coffees that are produced in 100 pound quantities, or less, among other perks.
Ultimate subscription: $9,995
A Special Cup to Match Your Special Blend
Higher-end coffees can run anywhere from $50 per 8-ounce bag to $400 per pound, depending on the variety and rarity of the coffee. When paying a premium for coffee, wouldn’t it make sense to purchase an equally special cup that best highlights the quality, flavor, and experience of the brew? DeViehl, a design company based out of London, was started by two coffee-loving brothers who wanted to help elevate drinking coffee from a mundane activity to a luxurious delight in a way that still maintains a daily routine.
Their beautiful cups are hand-crafted from a fusion of exotic materials and stainless steel to create the perfect coffee drinking experience. The metal walled cup allows to keep the coffee at a consistent and optimal drinking temperature while the conical shape helps to open up the bouquet and aromas of the coffee.
$970
Coffee for the True Adventurer
The world's most exclusive and off-the-beaten path coffees have a history of coming from animal feces, and Black Ivory coffee is no exception. In particular, this coffee is perfect for the adventure-seeking coffee lover as its made from the feces of rescued elephants, which is clearly something you can't get just anywhere.
This naturally ripened artisanal coffee is handpicked and sorted by a small staff whose mission is to produce the best Arabica coffee available. Because this coffee is picked from rescued elephants by hand, the total amount of coffee available is extremely limited. The waiting list for this 2016's crop is already sold out. For the lucky few that get to enjoy the coffee, a beautiful 1840’s style French Syphon brewer is included with your purchase to help you enjoy the beautiful notes of the coffee while proudly displaying a one-of-a-kind brewer on your countertop at home.
$175 for 3lbs of coffee or $375 for the coffee and Syphon brewer
Your Personal Coffee Conceirge
Bespoke Beverages are purveyors of the world’s finest and most exclusive coffees available. Their coffee is so high-end that they need only make two types. The first is called Ruby and costs about $65 per cup, and the second is Diamond which costs $300 per cup.
The company considers their clientele to be so elite that Bespoke will gladly fly to anywhere in the world to brew any client a cup of coffee. The flights for Bespoke’s staff is paid for by the client, but it's guaranteed you'll have the most exclusive coffee drinking experience out of anyone on the planet (save for another Bespoke client, of course).
Ruby: $65 per cup or Diamond: $300 per cup. Flights not included.
A Genuinely One-of-a-Kind Machine
Slayer, an espresso machine company based out of Seattle, has created a beautiful and powerful espresso machine for the home barista. This machine has beautiful mahogany handles, top of the line plumbing equipment, and the ability to control every minute piece of the brewing process.
What makes the Slayer even more attractive to coffee lovers, beyond its handcrafted expertise and bragging rights, is that Slayer can customize your machine to whatever your specifications may be. Nearly every component can be upgraded, specialty fabricated or branded to fit your personal taste and profile.
Starts at $18,000
