Why coffee lovers are paying top dollar for this gourmet brew made using berries picked out of bird poop
The jacu bird eats coffee berries which pass through its digestive system and are then gathered by hand – then sold at Harrods for US$190 per 125 grams
In recent years, culinary and beauty enthusiasts have witnessed some bizarre trends.
Remember that story about pop-star-turned-fashion designer Victoria Beckham using powdered nightingale droppings for facials?
Well, if you think that is weird, we have heard about the jacu, a type of South American bird whose droppings are worth big bucks.
Native to Brazil, the jacu has been categorised as highly endangered.
These indigenous birds, which inhabit the forest, feast only on the ripest coffee berries growing in the forest shade.
Once it has ingested the berry, it passes through its digestive system and the local villagers collect by hand the odourless droppings, composed of the extremely rare coffee beans.
The workers then transport the droppings to areas where they are slowly dried, cleaned, and de-husked over many hours and then stored for up to three months.
The result of this laborious process is a sweet, full-bodied gourmet coffee, sold around the world for staggering sums.
The coffee is prized because it is more acidic than the blends typically found in the region, with a clean, smooth aftertaste and no bitterness.