Co-worker and long-time Pinger Frank stopped by my office the other day and mentioned Kopi Luwak, supposedly the best coffee in the world. But there’s something slightly strange about this coffee…
It comes from Indonesia.
No, that’s not the funny part. This is: it’s made from beans that have passed through the digestive system of a palm civet, a strange little catlike member of the mongoose family. Only 500 pounds of this coffee is made a year, which explains why it can cost $300/pound (of course, I’ve had $200/lb green tea before, but I only bought a half-ounce worth).
So how do they get these beans to make into coffee? Well, there’s definitely a new “worst job you can have” on my list. Interestingly, Argan oil, which comes from a Moroccan tree, is also gathered in a similar way (the pits are removed by hand from goat dung).
So what does it taste like? I can’t speak from experience, though I’d be willing to give it a shot, but from what I’ve read it’s a very strong, rich taste with a smooth earthiness about it. One person said about it, “I’ve never tasted anything like it. It’s an unbelieveable taste in your mouth,” but a coffee purveyor said, “It’s excellent coffee. But I always caution customers that you can’t get $75 worth of quality in any coffee, there’s no such thing.” Another added, “Kopi Luwak is, in my opinion, indistinguishable from many an average robusta, especially if you cup them next to each other.”
The coffee is hard to find, but you can always buy a tasteless t-shirt.
Bottoms up!
Posted in Miscellaneous
civet coffee October 22, 2008, 2:15 pm
Dear Suryaningsih,
So you dont know anything about cofee..
i bet you never try the original luwak coffee by your self, thats because..in our country the original coffee luwak is rare, but the fake luwak brand is anywhere.
there is a lot fake luwak coffee now days..
so be carefull dont let yourself to be a victim.
we only sell the best and natural civet luwak.
Our coffee come from natural civet not from pet civet in the cage.
http://www.luwakcivetcoffee.com
Putu Civet Coffee August 25, 2009, 1:17 pm
My wife’s family and relatives (in Bali) have few hectares of coffee plantation and we’re collecting this kopi luwak (civet coffee) from the plantation and it’s very rare (got only few kilos a month). In the wild luwak is not just eating coffee but also other fruit such as banana, papaya, farmer’s chicken, etc which i think that’s why wild civet coffee is rare.
And in Indonesia civet is considered as pest and farmer just keep killing them because they think luwak (civet) makes more damage then benefit (remember they not just eating coffee).
And because of the rare, that’s why civet coffee is expensive. We’re selling this coffee $60 per 100grams (free shipping worldwide) but cannot handle much customers yet because the rare of this stuff. And to me personally the taste is unbeatable.
With 100gr civet coffee you can have about 8 – 10 cups but in resto/cafe 1 cup of luwak coffee is sold between $20 to $30 so you can save between $10 – $15/cup.
Thanks
Putu
http://www.webkios.info just find contact us page in the website to contact me.
pulsa termurah February 3, 2010, 10:49 am
hahaha… maybe someday you sould come to indonesia to taste the real luwak coffee made by hand (i’m from indonesia).
many fake luwak also in the market, but the best is always made by hand..
pulsa murah March 31, 2010, 5:30 am
I AM FROM INDONESIA. lots of kopi luwak here