Last Updated on March 3, 2014 by Christine Kaaloa
Civet Coffee: Would you buy Bali’s most expensive drinkable poop?
When I think of coffee, Indonesia doesn’t generally come to mind. Images of surfing, temples, beaches, rice fields and forests all surface… but not coffee. Not until now, as I’ve just learned that Indonesia has the stamp on one of the world’s most expensive coffees. It’s called Kopi Luwak.
Read 18 Things to Know Before you Go to Bali
What does the Bali’s most expensive coffee come from?
Table of Contents: Would you buy Bali’s most expensive drinkable poop?
Poop. That’s right… poop! I was on a group tour and we stopped over at one of the coffee farms to sample coffees and see the process of Kopi Luwak. Most of us think that coffee comes from beans on a tree and with Luwak coffee, that’s partially right. Coffee beans are still grown on trees; however, there’s an intermediary channel it goes through, called the Asian Palm civet muskrat or a raccoon-striped weasel called a ‘Luwak‘!
Luwaks reside in trees and are said to be extremely particular about what they eat. They only eat red coffee berries and of that it’s selective. Anyways, the finicky luwak eats and digests the fruit around the red coffee bean and then phffft! Out comes the undigested beans in clumps. It’s said that the enzymes in the luwak’s stomach seeps into the bean and that, in fact gives it its flavor.
(That’s a good one if I’ve ever heard of it.)
The luwak’s bean poop is then gathered, boiled in hot water, hand peeled, dried and then put in a pan and roasted.
What is the cost and taste?
At $160 /lb, I wasn’t about to pay to sample it. In the U.S. it’s said to go for between $100-600 a pound. Our tour guide said that Luwak kopi is aromatic, but strongly bitter. Not very good tasting, actually.
Would you buy Bali’s most expensive drinkable poop: Kopi Luwak or Civet Coffee
Where is Luwak coffee produced in Indonesia?
I took a tour of the Teman Coffee Plantation to learn about this, but you’ll find this coffee produced in Bali, but also, Sulawesi, Sumatra and Java. Now you know. If you’re a coffee connoisseur and you make a trip over, this would be the perfect time to stock up.
What do you pay to drink Bali’s most expensive drinkable poop? Ever tried Kopi Luwak? Would you?
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