[bbfan1991]

A cup of coffee made with elephant dung is being sold for £30 ($50) a cup.

Black Ivory Coffee has been labelled as "earthy in flavour and smooth on the palate" and is made from beans picked from the dung of 20 Thai elephants.

The brew's founder, Canadian Blake Dinkin, told The AP that he believes feeding the elephants the beans gives the coffee its unique flavour thanks to a gut reaction inside the animal.

It is an expensive process as each elephant is estimated to cost over £600 ($960) each month to keep. However, Dinkin - who has spent £190,000 developing the coffee - could have hit on a winning flavour as the first 70kg batch of coffee he produced in northern Thailand is reported to have sold out.

An American tourist said: "There's definitely something wild about it that I can't put a name on."

Consumers who are worried the elephants themselves might get addicted to the coffee beans are being reassured.

John Roberts, director of elephants at the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, stated: "As far as we can tell there is definitely no harm to the elephants."