Kopi Luwak

[El_Capitan]

Has anyone here ever tried Kopi Luwak? Although I find the idea of drinking it somewhat repugnant, at the same time I want to try it at least once. Is it really worth it, or is it just like real champagne vs sparkling wine (ie more about the name/rarity itself than the actual quality)?

[Javaphile]

Re: Kopi Luwak

Use the search function El Capitan. Youll find several threads on here relating to Kopi Luwak. Including postings by some who have tried it.


Java "Refuses to drink sh!tty coffee!" phile

[Bill]

Re: Kopi Luwak

is it just like real champagne vs sparkling wine (ie more about the name/rarity itself than the actual quality)?

Im a bit of a wine snob as well as a coffee snob, and I take exception to that statement. Real champagne is of a style that is very difficult, if not impossible, to reproduce elsewhere due to their unique soil and climate. MOST sparkling wine is a very poor imatation of the real thing IMO (Im mainly referring to Australian sparkling wine here, as thats what Im most familar with). Thats not to say that ALL champagne is better than ALL sparkling wines - there are certainly exceptions. Champagne is a style of wine that the French do extremely well. Ive tasted very few local sparkling wines that I would rate anywhere near their French counterparts, and those few local examples that I would rate as high in quality are of a quite different style so cant really be compared.

[bassway]

Re: Kopi Luwak

is it just like real champagne vs sparkling wine (ie more about the name/rarity itself than the actual quality)?

Im a bit of a wine snob as well as a coffee snob, and I take exception to that statement. Real champagne is of a style that is very difficult, if not impossible, to reproduce elsewhere due to their unique soil and climate. MOST sparkling wine is a very poor imatation of the real thing IMO (Im mainly referring to Australian sparkling wine here, as thats what Im most familar with). Thats not to say that ALL champagne is better than ALL sparkling wines - there are certainly exceptions. Champagne is a style of wine that the French do extremely well. Ive tasted very few local sparkling wines that I would rate anywhere near their French counterparts, and those few local examples that I would rate as high in quality are of a quite different style so cant really be compared.

Have to agree there.

I always wondered why people drank that acidic bubbly crap. When I was in France for about 3 days I went to a restuarant with my wife. It had Champagne for 38 euro. I thought expensive but what the hell. It was worth every bit of the 38 euro. It was like comparing fresh crab meat to sea food extender or fresh roasted, fresh ground coffee with instant coffee.

[El_Capitan]

Re: Kopi Luwak

Well, I guess that could be true of cheap domestics (never had any Australian wine being a yank, probably true of "California Champagne" too, something Ive never had either), but I buy Italian sparkling wines which are just as good but half the price.

[Thundergod]

Re: Kopi Luwak

Strange that youve not had any Australian wine Capitan.
You can find it most anywhere I thought.

When I was having lunch in a backstreet retaurant in Florence (Italy) quite a few wines on the menu were Australian.

[grendel]

Re: Kopi Luwak

Ill be roasting some Kopi Luwak in March for an Autism Association fundraiser - Ill possibly try a little myself, but still not sure! if you are going to be in Perth you are welcome to contact me and Ill provide details of the event.

[fatboy_1999]

Re: Kopi Luwak

Strange that youve not had any Australian wine Capitan.
You can find it most anywhere I thought.

When I was having lunch in a backstreet retaurant in Florence (Italy) quite a few wines on the menu were Australian.

As I participate in whooshing down the OT path - I actually saw some Barossa wines in a supermarket in the US a couple of years back that were cheaper to buy there than they were here. Seemed stange, but I suppose they were trying to get a market share, so the price was low.

[grendel]

Re: Kopi Luwak

fatboy - my sister buys australian wines in france for about $34 a case. We subsidise our own wine exports by paying a higher price in Australia than we sell it for overseas.

[El_Capitan]

Re: Kopi Luwak

The only Australian wine Ive seen is Yellowtail, although I do live in a fairly remote part of America, so good things show up later than usual.

[Thundergod]

Re: Kopi Luwak

Ive got a Yellow Tail on the table next to me right now (queue the twilight zone music).

[Bill]

Re: Kopi Luwak

The only Australian wine Ive seen is Yellowtail, although I do live in a fairly remote part of America, so good things show up later than usual.

Dont judge all Australian wine by what Yellowtail is like. Yellowtail is more of a budget level wine over here.

Also, I dont know what Champagnes youve had before, but dont judge all Champagne by what say something like (non-vintage) Moët is like. Moët is, IMO, pretty ordinary and not a very good example of what Champagne is all about.

[El_Capitan]

Re: Kopi Luwak

Youre entering another dimension...

Ive never had any Yellowtail, just seen it around. I do try to keep an open mind though about judging a type by one particular brand. If you judged all beer by Bud Lite, youd be in a world of trouble.

Speaking of beer, nothing beats a pint of Samuel Smiths stout.

[bassway]

Re: Kopi Luwak

Youre entering another dimension...

Ive never had any Yellowtail, just seen it around. I do try to keep an open mind though about judging a type by one particular brand. If you judged all beer by Bud Lite, youd be in a world of trouble.

Speaking of beer, nothing beats a pint of Samuel Smiths stout.

I have to hunt some Samuel Smith down, sounds interesting, an oatmeal stout!

I usually go for a Weihenstephan or Paulaner hefeweissbeer.

I think this thread may be moved to Off Topic the way it is going!

[flynnaus]

Re: Kopi Luwak

Interesting article about kl:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/fooddrink/a/kopi_luak.htm

Indonesia isnt 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.

Fox poo coffee was mentioned on CS a few years ago: