'Enlightened tingle': Aussie cafe offers $140 cup of coffee

One cafe in Melbourne, Australia, is serving up a cup of joe that costs US$140.
 
Melbourne has a long history of coffee culture, with Italian and Greek immigrants infusing the city with all things bean and cup since the 1940s. For those looking for a more upscale experience, one cafe sells a cup for 50 times the price of a standard flat white or espresso.
 
The coffee is grown in Panama's Chiriqui region and is regarded as one of the best in the world.
 
The beans, dubbed "Black Jaguar," took first place in the Natural Geisha category at the prestigious 2022 Best of Panama auction, scoring 96.5 out of 100.
 
They sold for more than $2,000 per pound. Only 100 pounds were available, and the Australian cafe group Proud Mary snatched one.

"I had an out-of-body, enlightened kind of tingle. It was really clearly a special cup of coffee, taste-wise, character-wise," said Proud Mary owner Nolan Hirte, who was on the judging panel. 
 
"It was right in your face, so expressive and so clear... There's something about it that's just 'wow'." 
 
22 cups were made available in Melbourne, and a limited number were stocked in their US cafes in Austin and Portland.
 
One aficionado flew two hours from Sydney to purchase the deluxe drop, which is served as a pour-over.
 
Melbourne is one of the wealthiest cities in one of the world's wealthiest countries. Nonetheless, $140 is far more than most people would pay for a cup of coffee.

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