Collideoscope

Posted by: David Bunch

Forbes.com rates the world's most expensive coffee beans. Now we must make a distinction here. We're not talking world's most expensive cup of coffee-just the coffee beans.

But for serious coffee connoisseurs, people who are looking for a world-class drink rather than a "gourmet" cup, the top fare is made from the highest-quality beans in the world. The beans come from very specific regions and are prized for their unique characteristics. Cultivated on small farms, they are coddled by farmers who care more about quality than quantity.

For example:

St. Helena coffee, for instance, is a high-quality coffee grown on the remote South Atlantic island to which Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled in 1815. Then there's the Indonesian Kopi Luwak, a coffee that is only roasted after it's been eaten and excreted by a palm civet.

These beans can retail for up to $100 a pound. But if you're interested and need to justify buying some of this lovely coffee, there's information on that, too.

"If you pay $10 per pound for the coffee you brew at home, a cup of coffee costs less than a Coke from a 12-pack," Howell points out. Even if you pay twice as much for a pound of beans, an entire pot of coffee will still cost less than a glass of wine from a $10 bottle.