Canadian entrepreneur Blake Dinkin wanted an animal to process coffee without the caged, force fed civets behind kopi luwak. He ruled out lions for their acidic carnivore guts and giraffes because a ruminant’s four chambered stomach would leave nothing of the bean. Elephants fit: in Southeast Asia’s dry season they already eat coffee cherries. His early batches were unsavory, and it took nine years of trials in Thailand, using hand picked high altitude Arabica from northeast Thailand mixed into a diet of rice, bananas, and tamarind, before Black Ivory Coffee launched in 2012.

Over a 10 to 72 hour transit, lactic acid bacteria and plant digesting enzymes break down the proteins that normally turn bitter in the roaster, leaving a smooth, chocolaty cup. The yield is brutal: 33 kilograms of cherries make one kilogram of coffee, because molars crush most beans and the rest land in brush and rivers where mahouts and their families search for them by hand. Dinkin first worked with the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation in northern Thailand, then moved production to Surin province in Isan, partnering with families who own about 20 elephants.

• The caffeine stays sealed inside the bean, so it never enters the elephant’s bloodstream.
• The first global batch in 2012 was only 150 kilograms.
• A single cup sells for around $50.
• The Ritz-Carlton Toronto built a tasting menu around it, and resorts in the Maldives serve it.
• Part of sales revenue has gone back to the foundation to fund veterinary care and conservation.