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Pooped Out?
By Linda | October 31, 2008
Kopi Luwak (Copy looWOCK) is a rare and highy sought after Indonesion coffee that gives the phrase “pass the coffee” a whole new meaning!
This very special coffee begins life like any other grown in this part of the world (the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago) but instead of being harvested in the conventional way, these coffee berries take a little detour through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet!
Kopi is the Indonesian word for coffee, and Luwak is a local name for the Asian Palm Civet. This cat-sized omnivorous mammal fills a similar ecological niche in Asia as the common raccoon does in North America. It’s varied diet includes fruit, insects, small mammals, small reptiles, eggs, nestlings of birds, and most importantly, raw red coffee berries.
After being eaten, the inner bean of the berry is not digested, but it has been proposed that enzymes in the stomach of the civet add to the coffee’s flavor by breaking down the proteins that give coffee its bitter taste. The beans are defecated still covered in some inner layers of the berry. The beans are washed, and given only a light roast so as to not destroy the complex flavors that develop through the process. The resulting coffee is said to be like no other. It has a rich, heavy flavor with hints of caramel or chocolate. Other terms used to describe it are earthy, musty and exotic. The body is almost syrupy and it’s very smooth.
Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for between $120 and $600 per pound. Its main consumers are Japan and the United States. Only 1,000 pounds at most come to market annually. If you can find a vendor that sells it, a cup of brewed Kopi Luwak will cost you around $65 a cup!
The following YouTube clip demonstrates how the Kopi Luwak coffee is prepared for serving.
Topics: Animal Kingdom, Food Science |
