
Some people won't touch food or drink that's just a day or two past its best-before date.

But when some divers found a 72-year-old bottle of coffee beans in a ship wreck, they couldn't resist brewing up with them – and they were amazed that they made a hot beverage with one hull of a taste.

The beans were brought up from the wreck of the Sulina, a Romanian cargo ship which was sunk in Black Sea after being struck by a Soviet torpedo during the Second World War.

Water discovery: Divers found a bottle of coffee beans in the wreck of the Sulina, a Romanian cargo ship which was sunk in Black Sea after being struck by a Soviet torpedo during the Second World War

Examination: A diver holding the bottle of coffee beans that had been brought to the surface from the wreck

Despite the ship's violent end, the bottle of beans was salvaged with the stopper still in place.

Not content with making the extraordinary find, the divers who explored the 545-foot-long vessel decided to open the bottle and brew up the cup of coffee the world had waited 72 years to experience.

Photographer and diver Andrey Nekrasov, 42, said: 'We brought up a dark green bottle, which had been floating near the ceiling of the mess cabin.

'We could hear something moving around inside the bottle, like beads. When we opened it up, we could smell the bitter aroma of coffee.

Brewing up: Coffee beans from the wreck being poured into a coffee grinder (left) and being distributed, ready to be put to the test (right)

Taste test: Two divers slurp some of the coffee, which they described as being 'remarkably fresh', 'very rich' but with a taste that was 'overcooked'

'We ground the beans and made coffee with them. The coffee was remarkably fresh, despite its age. The taste wasn't perfect but it was one of the most memorable coffee breaks of my life.

'The coffee smelled very rich. The fact it had been underwater in a sealed jar meant it came with an amazing backstory, so the taste was unique and very special. I would describe the taste as overcooked, as if it had been left to stew for a long time.'

The Sulina is so perfectly preserved due to its depth. It lies at 72 feet below the surface - the height of four double-decker buses - protecting it from the impact of waves.

Other ships from the same period which were scuppered at a depth of 40 to 50 feet have been broken apart in winter storms.

Divers also found lightbulbs from the forsaken vessel which they managed to hook up to an electricity supply and bring back to life.

A diver examines a bench on the deck of the sunken ship

A diver peers through a porthole in the ship's cabin

Mr Nekrasov said: 'Many of the products found in the ship serve as excellent advertisements for the companies which produced them because they are still in good shape today.

'We brought some of the lightbulbs up from the wreck, cleaned them of salt and connected them to a light fitting. They still light up, despite having been under a pressure two or three times that of the atmosphere for more than seven decades.'

Although the Sulina was primarily a cargo ship there were 16 first-class cabins on board and it had a well-stocked wine cellar.

Toilets in the wreck: According to the divers the flush and other faucets still worked

A sink on the floor of the wreck, which still had taps that turned easily, according to the divers

Mr Nekrasov said: 'When we discovered the wine cellar we rubbed our hands in anticipation.

'My co-divers dug in the silt for days, only to be rewarded by several broken or empty bottles which smashed when it sank. The bottles we did manage to salvage had not aged well and now contained a strong grape vinegar.'

The Sulina, which was built in 1939 in Palermo, Italy, sank on May 29 1942 after joining the Romanian naval fleet at the start of World War Two.

The cargo ship was part of a convoy of Romanian and German ships travelling from Constantsa, Romania to Nikolayev, Ukraine. The Sulina was carrying coal and ammunition.

A diver examines the crest on the ships bow, which rests 72 feet beneath the surface near the port of Odessa

The ship was hit at 9.30pm by a torpedo fired by a Soviet submarine. The captain, Victor Mikhu, had previously been alerted to foam trails in the water thought to be from a submarine periscope.

The Sulina tried evasive manoeuvres but the ship was struck below the waterline on the starboard side.

Water flooded into the engine room so quickly that three mechanics on watch drowned before they could leave their posts.