Tuesday, 11 December 2012 By Chant Wagner

A New Flavor is Born: Black Ivory Coffee aka Elephant Dung Coffee {Fragrant Recipes & Taste Notes}

That's right, life never was so easy as in today's world for a working elephant

The latest trend in coffee appreciation centers on the many nuances found in the "coffee cherries" excreted by elephants in Thailand. The advantage over civet coffee or Kopi Luwak? The size of the elephant stomach and the prolonged time it takes for the coffee beans to ferment inside the gut of an elephant. So, was the wait worth it and how does that flavorful cuppa taste? Words partly fail tasters,

“I thought it would be repulsive,” said Ryan Nelson, 31, of Tampa, Florida. “But I loved it. It was something different. There’s definitely something wild about it that I can’t put a name on.”...

You can further dream about the complex combo of flavors developing inside an elephant stocking up on his staple foods,

"Think of the elephant as the animal kingdom’s equivalent of a slow cooker. It takes between 15 and 30 hours to digest the beans, which stew together with bananas, sugar cane and other ingredients in the elephant’s vegetarian diet to infuse unique earthy and fruity flavors, said the 42-year-old Canadian, who has a background in civet coffee."

Proceeds are ethical as they go in part towards funding elephant conservation, who are de facto working for their own cause.

Pic via the Chronicle Herald

The elephant dung trend is strong worldwide -- the shoew below, soon on Lady Gaga's feet,