Naleena
Well-known member
Incase you have never heard there is a very special coffee that goes for around $30 dollars a cup and $600 a pound. It's Kopi Luwak.
"The secret of this delicious blend," enthuses the Indonesia Tourism Promotion Board, "lies in the bean selection, which is performed by a luwak, a species of civet cat endemic to Java. The luwak will eat only the choicest, most perfectly matured beans which it then excretes, partially digested, a few hours later. Plantation workers then retrieve the beans from the ground, ready for immediate roasting."
Ummmm...I wonder who was the first guy that saw a fresh hot civet steamer lying on the ground; looked around at his friends and said,"I don't know about you, but I'm having a cup of that!"
From About.com
The aroma is rich and strong, and the coffee is incredibly full bodied, almost syrupy. It's thick with a hint of chocolate, and lingers on the tongue with a long, clean aftertaste. It's definitely one of the most interesting and unusual cups I've ever had.
Indonesia isn't the sole producer of civet-processed coffee, by the way. In Vietnam, aficionados hanker after the exceedingly rare caphe cut chon ("fox dung coffee," so named because civets resemble foxes to the Vietnamese), which is harvested in precisely the same manner as kopi luwak.
Cream? Sugar? Gas mask?
As you have no doubt surmised, the unique taste and aroma of these coffees are routinely attributed to the fact that the beans have been chemically modified by the acids and enzymes in the animal's digestive tract before they're excreted and harvested. Less frequently observed but more to the point, in my opinion, is a characteristic of all members of the civet family which surely influences the fragrance of the beans: "anal scent glands that secrete a fluid with a musky odor"(American Heritage Dictionary).
I'll take mine with cream, sugar, and a gas mask, please.
"The secret of this delicious blend," enthuses the Indonesia Tourism Promotion Board, "lies in the bean selection, which is performed by a luwak, a species of civet cat endemic to Java. The luwak will eat only the choicest, most perfectly matured beans which it then excretes, partially digested, a few hours later. Plantation workers then retrieve the beans from the ground, ready for immediate roasting."
Ummmm...I wonder who was the first guy that saw a fresh hot civet steamer lying on the ground; looked around at his friends and said,"I don't know about you, but I'm having a cup of that!"
From About.com
The aroma is rich and strong, and the coffee is incredibly full bodied, almost syrupy. It's thick with a hint of chocolate, and lingers on the tongue with a long, clean aftertaste. It's definitely one of the most interesting and unusual cups I've ever had.
Indonesia isn't the sole producer of civet-processed coffee, by the way. In Vietnam, aficionados hanker after the exceedingly rare caphe cut chon ("fox dung coffee," so named because civets resemble foxes to the Vietnamese), which is harvested in precisely the same manner as kopi luwak.
Cream? Sugar? Gas mask?
As you have no doubt surmised, the unique taste and aroma of these coffees are routinely attributed to the fact that the beans have been chemically modified by the acids and enzymes in the animal's digestive tract before they're excreted and harvested. Less frequently observed but more to the point, in my opinion, is a characteristic of all members of the civet family which surely influences the fragrance of the beans: "anal scent glands that secrete a fluid with a musky odor"(American Heritage Dictionary).
I'll take mine with cream, sugar, and a gas mask, please.
