Kopi luwak comes from the Indonesian words for coffee and civet. A civet is a cat-like creature who slinks around eating sweet red coffee cherries in Indonesia. Finicky like a cat, they only eat the best of the harvest, chewing off the exterior and swallowing the hard inner core of the bean. Once digested, the beans emerge in the usual way - amid the animal's dung. The trip through the digestive system has removed the harshness and most of the caffeine and the result is a mellow coffee bean that sells for as much as $600 a pound. Once you separate it from the dung, of course.One pound of civet droppings will produce less than 5 ounces of beans - and roasting reduces the quantity even more. Only 500 to 1,000 pounds hit the global market each year, which explains the extremely high price of this coffee. Left unanswered, however, is just whose idea it was to pick through civet dung in the first place.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-30-2007 @ 6:12PM
Sherrill said...
...who buys that stuff...and how do they pay for it...
My I suggest my exclusive...shamefully rich...soothingly smooth Premium Connoisseur Peaberry...this is no ordinary coffee...
~~Sherrill~~
gourmet coffee snob
Always Drink Better Coffee
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7-31-2007 @ 6:04AM
JW-C said...
I've had the "pleasure" of having this and apart from the indigestion I always get from drinking coffee I have to admit it was nothing special to me at all. I'm not a coffee connoisseur so what would I know but I don't like heartburn so I am the last person to buy something such as this. But good on those that pay this exorbitant amount of money for coffee. I'll take tea any day thank you.
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