Black Ivory Coffee

Sometimes one comes across strange things, delicious things, bad tasting things and rare things.....among many other things. I came across a very rare thing called Black Ivory Coffee

What is so special on this coffee?

Firstly, only 200 kg are produced each year, that of course makes it extremely rare, especially when one thins that in Finland everybody consumes on average 11 kg coffee per year, so 20 Fins would drink up the entire production.

Secondly, and I think that is even more interesting, the coffee is not made in the traditional way, no, it is actually .........let me start from the very beginning

In northern Thailand there are coffee plantations, some very high quality Arabica cherries (coffee beans still in the skin). They get harvested and then, ha and this is the big difference, gets fed to street rescued elephants! So now you can imagine what happens: The elephants eat the coffee cherries, then digest them and .....yes they are coming out in the back again. Then the fermented cherries (only the nice and whole ones) get picked from the elephant poop. To produce 1 kg of coffee beans, one needs 33 kg of fresh coffee cherries. Why? Because when the elephants eat it, it gets mixed with fresh fruit and eaten as a snack, some of the cherries will get crushed between the teeth and are not usable anymore. Then sometimes the elephant do what they have to do in places that they can not find the poop or they are in the water....and everything is lost. So it is not easy.

Then they get cleaned and dried. The coffee gets then roasted at 200C to a medium roast, then packed and shipped immediately to conserve the freshness. So for anybody who has doubts about the cleanliness of the coffee? It has been tested and came out as one of the cleanest coffees available.

The preparation of the coffee is something special too. It work in a vacuum coffee machine, a replica of an 1840 model, and it works perfectly. The coffee beans get grind by hand at the table and then the coffee is prepared, so there is a lot of show and enough time for the waiter to tell a great story about the elephants and the coffee

Blake, the owner of Black Ivory Coffee demonstrating the grinding of the coffee

How does the coffee taste????? If you expect any special flavor....sorry to disappoint you, it tastes like coffee. OK, it is milder than coffee, maybe for many of us too mild, it even looks a little bit like a dark tea. I have to admit, I do prefer a nice espresso after dinner, but if it is explained properly on the flavors, one just takes a little sugar in the coffee, yes I have to admit it is actually very nice

How much does it cost? Let's jut say, it is not cheap, but if you want to try, we will offer it within the next couple of month as one of only 19 hotels world wide to be able to sell the coffee

There is another coffee that is made similar, but with Civets, but unfortunately because of the popularity there are now cases of animal cruelty, so one has to be careful with buying that coffee

Amazing Mongolia

The Country Gourmet Traveler is writing about Mongolia? Wow, I wonder what it might be......OK, to be honest, I just want to spread the word about a really good organization where a friend of mine is part of. They are doing an amazing job helping and keeping the nature clean......and of course helping the people there.

This friend of mine has a love affair since many years as he goes there every year to run an ultra Marathon, yes you guessed it right, I do NOT run, so I think he does it for both of us and a couple more people. Anyway, I just wanted to copy a little letter he sent to me about what they do and how we can help, either with spreading the word or with donating....or both, but please read on

There are still a few spots left for our adventure run/visit to Mongolia (28 July - 04August, 2012) so please help spread the word.

The MS2S organizing team is very active working on the details of this year’s race. We are now organizing the local drivers to transport race participants from Moron and the Toilogt Camp, the local horsemen to look after us on the course on race day, the local and international doctors for the race and also contacting the local handcraft and dairy product suppliers.

As you may know, the race is just one of our activities, actually the race helps raise funds for our environmental activities and support for the local community. Here are some of our 2011 achievements:

A total of 22,300 Hovsgol National Park visitors were introduced to the program of garbage collection and recycling, and 9,600 garbage bags have been handed out to them, with a return rate of over 86%, which is very encouraging.

In addition, overall 368 truckloads of garbage have been transported out of the National Park from tourist camps and campsites.

The Litter Education Program in the Park continues, with awarness and education in the local schools located in the park, competition and awards to the cleanest nomadic household ( local Family Zaya won this time.....Congratulations! ) and the Ashihai Tourist Camp on the shore of the Hovsgol Lake was recognized and awarded as the cleanest tourist camp for 2011.

As a result of this, Hovsgol National Park is currently recognized the cleanest among the National Parks in Mongolia.

However not everything went smoothly this past year; our dear old Russian made garbage truck totally broke down and is beyond repair. We are now going to buy a used Korean made truck (more environmental friendly) and as such we are looking for sponsors and donations. We need about 12,000 USD and have to date raised 5,966USD so if you have an idea, or could contribute, let me know!

You can also donate either with a VISA or MasterCard on this link:  http://www.ultramongolia.org/nonprofit.cfm#
or via bank transfer - details can be found here: http://www.ultramongolia.org/cfm/ultra/viewBankDetails.cfm