Would You Pay $344 for a Coffee?

A Scottish dairy, or milk cow farm, is offering what it calls Britain's costliest coffee: one cup for $344.

It is a huge price for a little cup of coffee, but the man selling it offers a deal sweetener: a share of a dairy farm.

For that price, they also receive 34 shares in Mossgiel Organic Dairy. The company offers the deal in a crowdfunding campaign it opened. It hopes to raise enough money to enlarge its sustainable operation and produce more milk.

Investors who buy 34 shares get a certificate for a special coffee drink called a flat white. Holders can present their certificate and get their flat white at one of 13 coffee shops in Scotland that use the dairy's milk.

The dairy's owner, Bryce Cunningham, notes his coffee costs 80 times the usual price. "We know it sounds crazy, but when you break it down, it's a pretty good deal. How much is the future of farming worth,” he asked.

The price tops the $320 for a flat white at Shot London, a coffee bar in the wealthy Mayfair and Marylebone neighborhoods. That flat white was made with rare coffee beans from Okinawa, Japan. The Telegraph newspaper reported in April that it was the most costly coffee in Britain.

Cunningham is seeking about $375,000 from small investors in order to secure a much larger bank loan. He had already raised more than a third of his goal when he offered the flat white farm shares deal.

The loan he is seeking is worth more than $1.1 million. He says that financing will help him double operations and expand out of Scotland all the way to London.

Shareholders receive other rewards, too, such as farm visits, milk transport deals and invitations to special events. But investors are also given a standard warning that they could lose some or all of the money they invest.

The dairy farm in Mauchline, about 40 kilometers south of Glasgow, is historic. The famous 18th-century Scottish poet Robert Burns once worked at the farm. Burns, considered the national poet of Scotland, wrote while working in the fields there for two years. An image of his face is on each glass container of Mossgiel milk.

Todd Whiteford is an owner of The Good Coffee Cartel in Glasgow, that is serving the costly cups. He said the store has been using Mossgiel's milk for several years. He said other milk producers cannot meet the quality of Mossgiel's milk. He said it makes “rounder, smoother and sweeter” drinks.

“Theirs is the best. I'll argue with anyone about that,” Whiteford said.

I'm Mario Ritter Jr.

The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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cohesive – n. exhibiting or producing the act or state of sticking together tightly

previously – adv. before; in the past

giant – n. huge

dissipate – n. to break up and scatter or vanish

diameter – adj. the length of a straight line through the center of an object or space

spin – v. to turn in a circular motion

warp - to be turned or twisted out of, or as if out of, shape