Most Expensive Coffee in the World

The most expensive coffee in the world does not hail from Jamaica or Hawaii, but instead from Indonesia.

Kopi Luwak the most expensive coffee in the world does exist, and those who drink the expensive coffee insist that it is made from coffee beans eaten, partly digested and then excreted by the Common palm civet, a weasel-like animal.

“Kopi” the Indonesian word for coffee along with “luwak” is local name of this animal which eats the raw red coffee beans. The civet digests the soft outer part of the coffee cherry, but does not digest the inner beans and excretes them.

Apparently the internal digestion ends up adds a unique flavor to the beans, removing the bitter flavor, and then beans are then picked up by locals and sold. The most expensive coffee beans can cost up to $600 a pound, and up to $50 per cup, if you can get over the fact that you are drinking such a strange brew.

You would know if you drank the most expensive coffee in the world, because the quantities of it are tiny amounts.

[Source: Most-Expensive Journal]

Top 10 Most Expensive Burgers

Creating expensive hamburgers has become a common stunt for restaurants around the world during the past 10 years. The burger is best known for its role as the king of fast food, but fine dining has taken the burger and turned it into an intriguing culinary indulgence.

Below is our list of the world’s most expensive burgers.

10. The Rossini – $60
The Burger Bar, Las Vegas

Chef Hubert Keller has cemented his place as the burger chef by launching his Burger Bar restaurant in 3 locations, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Saint Louis. The most accessible burger on our list, the Rossini comes in at a mere $60.

The Rossini is composed of Kobe beef, sauteed foie gras, shaved truffles, madeira sauce on an onion bun. The burger is named after 19th century Italian composer Giachino Rossini.

If you visit the San Francisco location, you will have to enjoy the burger without the foie gras after the statewide ban went into effect this year. The burger bar might be expensive for a burger restaurant, but it is still affordable if you want to try a gourmet burger. For less than $20, you can create your own Kobe beef burger with the toppings of your choice.

 

9. 777 Burger – about $70 or $777 paired with a bottle of Dom Pérignon
Le Burger Brassiere, Las Vegas

This expensive Kobe beef burger also features Maine lobster topped with caramelized onions, Brie, crispy prosciutto and 100-year aged balsamic vinegar. The bottle of Rosé Dom Pérignon champagne may actually contribute as much as the burger to the price though.

 

8. The Fleurburger 5000 – $75 (or $5000 when paired with wine)
Fleur, Las Vegas

Hubert Keller originally gained burger fame for The Fleurburger which was served in his Las Vegas restaurant Fleur de Lys (now renamed simply Fleur). The burger could be ordered by itself for a mere $75.

But, if you were inclined to drop $5,000 on a meal, and enjoyed Bordeaux wine, you could order the burger with a bottle of 1990 Château Pétrus wine. As part of the meal you received a certificate to prove that you ate the world’s most expensive hamburger and wine pairing.

The burger itself was made of Kobe beef and topped with foie gras and black truffles and served on a brioche truffle bun and garnished with a sauce containing even more truffles.

 

7. The DB “Royale” Double Truffle Burger – $120
The DB Bistro Moderne, New York / Daniel Boulud Brasserie, Las Vegas

In 2007, celebrity chef Daniel Boulud gave the burger a makeover. The unique burger was stuffed with red wine-braised short ribs, off the bone obviously and included foie gras, a mix of root vegetables and preserved black truffle and then a double serving of fresh black truffles to top off the burger. The burger was served on a toasted parmesan and poppy seed bun and a couple choice condiments, fresh horseradish and oven rosted tomato confit.

Today you can visit the DB Bistro Moderne in New York and order the original DB burger, with a few less truffles for $32.

 

6. The Tri-Beef Burger – $125
The Old Homestead Steakhouse, Boca Raton

This expensive burger was created in 2006 at the Old Homestead Steakhouse in Boca Raton, Florida. Called the Tri-Beef Burger, the burger was made of a blend of three different kinds of beef—American Prime, Japanese Wagyu and Argentine beef. The hamburger was served with signature Chipotle ketchup which included the ingrediants truffles and champagne. The restaurant’s owners donated $10 of every sale of the $125 burger to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Don’t worry too much if you missed this burger in 2006, if you visit one of the Old Homstead Steakhouse locations today you can still order a 20oz Kobe burger for about $40.

 

5. The X Burger – 180,000 won, or about $160
W Hotel, Seoul Korea

Chef Ciaran Hickey brings you a burger made of Australian Wagyu beef topped with seared foie gras and shaved black truffles on a brioche bun. The burger is topped with tomato, grilled red onion, fresh asparagus, wild pine mushrooms, and a lobster tail and accompanied by a sauce selection of brunoise tomato salsa, dark red wine truffle sauce, and truffle aioli.

 

4. The Richard Nouveau Burger – $175
Wall Street Burger Shoppe, New York

The Richard Nouveau was a 2008 entry into the burger hall of fame. Named after the fictional writer of PocketChange, an online newsletter about New York’s most expensive offerings published in the 2000s, the Richard Nouveau was available at the Wall Street Burger Shoppe in New York. The ten-ounce Kobe beef burger was topped with black truffles, seared foie gras, aged Gruyere cheese, wild mushrooms and flakes of gold leaf. Like the Fleurburger, it was also served on a brioche bun.

Obviously the expensive cheeseburger wasn’t a huge success for the Wall Street Burger Shoppe, as the restaurant closed and filed for bankruptcy in 2011.

 

3. The Burger – £95, or about $186
Burger King, West London

Surprisingly enough Burger King the fast food giant has decided to live up to its name by producing the then most expensive burger in the world in 2008.. Simply called “The Burger,” this costly hamburger is was available only in the West London branch of the restaurant chain.

The Burger King creation was made with Wagyu beef. It is also decked with white truffles, onion tempura prepared in Cristal champagne and some of Spain’s finest Pata Negra proscuitto. All of this was presented in an Iranian saffron and truffle bun.

While derided as a cheap marketing stunt, proceeds from The Burger benefited a local charity, Help A London Child.

 

2. Le Burger Extravagant – $295
Serendipity 3, New York

New York, Serendipity 3, known for also having the world’s most expensive sundae and hotdog, recently launched the Le Burger Extrevagant. The burger consists of a Japanese Waygu beef patty infused with 10-herb white truffle butter and seasoned with smoked sea salt. The cheeseburger features a cheddar cheese aged for 18 months by famed cheesemaker James Montgomery. No Expensive burger is complete without truffles, in this case shaved black ones. The burger also includes a fried quail egg, a blini, creme fraiche, Kaluga caviar on a white truffle-buttered Campagna roll.

What else can bring up the price of this burger? Well it comes with a solid gold toothpick, encrusted with diamonds.

 

1. The Douche Burger – $666
666 Burger, New York

The douche burger attempts to make a mockery of the entire expensive burger phenomenon. Created by Franz Aliquo and the 666 Burger food truck in New York City, the cheeseburger features a Kobe beef patty wrapped in gold leaf, foie gras, caviar, lobster, truffles, imported aged Gruyere cheese, melted with champagne steam, a kopi luwak barbeque sauce and Himalayan rock salt.

The owner of the food truck, Franz Alique has this to say about the world’s most expensive burger, “It consists of a f—ing burger filled and topped with rich people s–t.”

[Source: Most-Expensive Journal]

Expensive Dessert Cake

Lindeth Howe Country House Hotel in Windermere, Cumbria has recently served the world’s most expensive dessert to a British diamond merchant, Carl Weininger.

The 3 inch by 3 inch chocolate flavored cake, made to appear like a Frabrege egg, was infused with peach, orange and whiskey and layered with champagne jelly and a light biscuit joconde. The edible parts were finished with dark chocolate and of course no record breaking dessert is complete without gold leaf.

To fully bring the dessert to the level of an ostentatious display, the dessert is topped with a two-carat diamond.

The dessert cost a mere £22,000, or around $34,000 USD.

Marc Guibert, the head chef, prepares the extravagant dessert.

[Source: Most-Expensive Journal]

Most Expensive Cupcakes

Do you like cupcakes? What about diamonds? Gold? If you said “Yes!” to all of these questions, then you’re in for a treat—or two—as we tell you about the most expensive cupcakes in the world.

Decadence d’Or – $750

First, there’s Decadence d’Or by Pastry Chef Long Nguyen. Available at Las Vegas’ Palazzo Resort, ‘Decadence’ is made with edible gold flakes, gold-vanilla caviar, a Louis XIII de Remy Martin Cognac bottled around 1900 and Palmira Single Estate Chocolate. This cupcake truly has the “most expensive” look with its fantastic ornamentation.

 

Diamond cupcake by Mervis – $30,000

Created by Mervis Diamond Importers, these classy cupcakes weren’t just well-decorated—they were well-decorated with diamonds. Made to usher in the 2009 wedding season, each cupcake included a single, 2-carat asscher cut diamond surrounded by eight brilliant cut diamonds. Clearly the cupcakes weren’t bad enough for your teeth without the diamonds.

 

ROX diamond cupcake – $150,000

Created to mark the three-day Glam in the City fashion event in Glasgow, Scotland, this iced pastry—pardon the pun—is sparkling with gems from ROX luxury jewelers. ROX collaborated with Cupcake Glasgow to create this delightful diamond dessert. The event, fronted by fashion consultant Gok Wan, runs from June 18th to June 20th, 2010.

[Source: Most-Expensive Journal]

World’s Most Expensive Ice

As if the bottled water craze that has stigmatized tap water consumption wasn’t enough of a waste of money, one company has hit upon an even more fantastic way to throw away your money—some of the most expensive ice in the world.

Gläce Luxury Ice Co. have eschewed the typical ice cube for a more pleasing sphere. Each 2.5” sphere is carved by hand and made with pure water to preserve the flavor of high-end drinks. Gläce recommends allowing a sphere to “age” for 3-4 minutes once you’ve removed it from the freezer, lest your precious status symbol be marred by “crackling” and “spidering.” These luxury ice spheres cost $8 each.

Gläce isn’t the first company to make ice spheres for beverage cooling, however. Okamoto Studios—New York’s most expensive ice sculptors—once made ice balls for an event at a bar. Using a leather strap, screws and dog bowls, they made ice balls for patrons’ drinks. By using differently sized bowls, they were even able to vary the sizes of the balls.

[Source: Most-Expensive Journal]

Most Expensive Irish Whiskey

When the heir of the Persse family estate, including the Nun’s Island Distillery in Galway, Ireland, decided to pursue racehorse training instead of continuing the family business, he probably didn’t realize he was creating what may be the world’s most expensive Irish whiskey—that is, if anyone ever buys it.

According to whisky seller Ken Thomas’ story of the expensive bottle, it was brought to him by a customer who had inherited it from a lady friend of the Persse heir. Dating from the late 1800s, the 25 Year Old Pure Pot Still Whiskey was one of the last bottles produced by the Nun’s Island Distillery, which closed its doors around 1913.

Thomas’ Arkwrights Whisky and Wines store is offering the bottle, on behalf of its owner, for £100,000 (US $143,020). If it sells at that price, it won’t just be the most expensive Irish whiskey ever sold—it’ll be the overall most expensive whisky ever sold.

[Source: Most-Expensive Journal]

Most Expensive Pizza

Pizza is one of the staples of the modern American diet, especially amongst the young and the lower class. It’s generally regarded as a cheap and convenient meal with more going for it than its fast food competition. So when we heard about chef Domenico Crolla’s “Pizza Royale 007″, we were quite shocked. It didn’t seem likely that someone would have set out to make the world’s most expensive pizza when usually pizza is such a low budget meal.

The 12 inch pizza pie is densely packed with an assortment of some of the world’s most expensive food ingredients, such as lobster marinated in cognac, caviar soaked in champagne, sunblush tomato sauce, Scottish smoked salmon, venison medallions, prosciutto, and vintage balsamic vinegar. In addition to all these fine ingredients, it’s topped with a significant amount of edible 24-carat gold flakes.

Mr. Crolla originally claimed that the novelty luxury pizza was worth some $3,700, and he would auction it on eBay and donate the proceeds to The Fred Hollows Foundation. The Fred Hollows Foundation is a UK organization that seeks to eradicate avoidable blindness in developing countries. The auction ended November 19, 2006 with the highest bid by Italian lawyer Maurizio Morelli reaching £2,150 (approx. $4,200 in US dollars). Morelli is a charitable food connoisseur from Rome who also collects fine wines and truffles. The Guinness Book of World Records is reviewing the details of the pizza’s sale and it is under consideration for taking the record for “World’s Most Expensive Pizza” from a less extravagant white truffle pizza created by Gordon Ramsay’s Maze restaurant in London.

[Source: Most-Expensive Journal]

Most Expensive Champagne

Champagne, a sparkling wine named after the Champagne region of France is the costliest wine to produce. To produce champagne there must be two fermentation processes, with the second step trapping carbon dioxide and making the bubbles. In most of Europe, the name “champagne” is legally protected meaning only the most expensive sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France can be marketed as champagne. In the United States and other areas, $3 bottles of wine are often labeled champagne.

People often drink Champagne as part of a celebration and when celebrating success many feel the need to show off. The most expensive champagnes are more about image than what is in the bottle.

Cristal Brut 1990 “Methuselah”
$17,625

This six-liter, gold-labeled bottle of Cristal Brut 1990, dubbed the Methuselah, was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York to an undisclosed buyer in 2005. At the time, Cristal was a favorite of the hip-hop crowd.

Dom Perignon White Gold Jeroboam
$40,000

During the same year, a limited edition bottle of Dom Perignon became the most expensive champagne in the world. Sold in three-liter bottles, the Dom Perignon White Gold Jeroboam was sold to commemorate the New Year. Much of its price, however, is surely due to the white gold bottle from which the expensive wine takes its name.

Pernod-Ricard Perrier-Jouet
$50,000

Each of the 100 sets contains twelve bottles of fine, expensive champagne. Marketed only to the ultra-rich, buyers will have the chance personalize their drinking experience by choosing the liqueur used in the champagne—and they’ll have to fly to Eastern France to do so. The sets are being sold to consumers in the United States, Britain, Japan, China, Russia, Switzerland and France. The price even includes a storage nest where the champagne may be allowed to age for up to eight months!

Shipwrecked 1907 Heidsieck
$275,000

These hundred year old bottles of Champagne from the Heidsieck vineyard in Champagne took over eighty years to reach their destination. Shipped to the Russian Imperial family in 1916, a shipwreck off the coast of Finland caused this champagne to be lost at sea until divers discovered over 200 bottles in 1997. Now they’re finally being sold—to wealthy guests at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow, at least. Of course, the wine’s extraordinary tale and incredible age are what makes it the world’s most expensive champagne.

[Source: Most-Expensive Journal]

Most Expensive Dessert

at $1,000 the most expensive item on their menu became the official recorder holder as the most expensive ice cream sundae in the world!

The most expensive ice cream sundae in the world is called the “Grand Opulence” Sundae and was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Manhattan restaurant Serendipity 3. Serendipity 3 celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2004 and decided to create the world’s most expensive ice cream sundae as a publicity stunt. They were later recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as having accomplished their goal - at $1,000 the most expensive item on their menu became the official recorder holder as the most expensive ice cream sundae in the world!

Serendipity describes the Golden Opulence Sundae as follows: “5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23K edible gold leaf, the sundae is drizzled with the world’s most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porceleana, and covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate, which is from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela’s coast. The masterpiece is suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold dragets, truffles and Marzipan Cherries. It is topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, an exclusive dessert caviar, made of salt-free American Golden caviar, known for its sparkling golden color. It’s sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac.

The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon to partake in the indulgence, served with a petite mother of pearl spoon and topped with a gilded sugar flower by Ron Ben-Israel. How many customers have been willing to spend the $1,000 that this sundae costs? The founders admit it’s an outrageous price tag, but they say it has “snob appeal”. It has been popular enough since its introduction that they still serve it today, and recently the 15th Golden Opulence Sundae sold was ordered in advance for someone’s Sweet 16 birthday party. If you want to try it yourself, be sure to call ahead, as it takes a few days to prepare!