MELBOURNE (AFP) – At USD140 a pop, one cafe in Melbourne, Australia is serving up no ordinary cup of joe. Melbourne has long been famed for its coffee culture, with Italian and Greek migrants infusing the city with all things bean and cup since the 1940s.
And for those looking for a next-level experience, one cafe is selling a cup at 50 times the price of a regular flat white or espresso.
The coffee – hailed as one of the world’s finest – is grown in Panama’s Chiriqui region.
Dubbed ‘Black Jaguar’, the beans came first at the prestigious 2022 Best of Panama auction in the Natural Geisha category, scoring 96.5 out of 100.
They sold for over USD2,000 per 450 grammes. Only 100 pounds were up for grabs and Australian cafe group Proud Mary snapped up a pound.
“I had an out-of-body, enlightened kind of tingle. It was really clearly a special cup of coffee, taste-wise, character-wise,” said Proud Mary owner Nolan Hirte, who was on the judging panel.
“It was right in your face, so expressive and so clear. There’s something about it that’s just ‘wow’.”
The Black Jaguar is the most expensive coffee Proud Mary has ever bought.
They made 22 cups available in Melbourne, and a limited amount was stocked at their cafes in Austin and Portland in the United States (US).
One connoisseur flew two hours from Sydney to buy the deluxe drop, which is served as a pour-over.
