Americans have been known shell out big on coffee — sometimes they spend even more on java than they save for retirement. Millennials in particular splurge for their coffees, with almost 30 percent admitting to buying a coffee at least three times a week according to a recent survey.
But one brew is for fanatics only: an $18 cup of coffee at the Extraction Lab by Alpha Dominche in Brooklyn, N.Y., as seen on an upcoming episode of CNBC's "Secret Lives of the Super Rich."
"If you knew what went into this coffee before it ended up in your cup, you would actually say, 'Whoa, $18, that is not really that bad,'" claims Alpha Dominche CEO Thomas Perez.
The luxury coffee is a combination of the beans selected for the drink and the machines used to make it.
The beans are a high-end variety called "gesha" beans, which come from Ninety Plus Gesha Estates in Panama and allegedly have a lighter, "more tea-like" taste than other blends, Eater reports. It goes for as much as $350 a pound, and is the most expensive coffee in America, according to "Secret Lives of the Super Rich."
The Extraction Lab uses a high-tech, computerized machine called a Steampunk to create the coffee. The machines cost $13,900 for a pair and the Brooklyn coffee shop has eight.
Perez says the price is worth it for his customers: "We actually sell out pretty fast."
Watch an all new episode of "Secret Lives of the Super Rich" Thursday at 10pm ET/PT on CNBC.
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