Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

[davwhite]

I was surfing through a Pommie site today when I came across this Kopi Luwak coffee. The price for a 125g bag was $AUD38.00 compared to Mandheling 250G bag at $AUD7.00.

What makes this coffee so expensive?

Anyone heard about it or better still tried it?

The site was http://www.hasbean.co.uk/catalog/index.php

[davwhite]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

I had to find out didnt I?

Here is the story of this coffee, very interesting.

Kopi Luwak coffee comes from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an area well-known for its excellent coffee. Also native to the area is a small civit-like animal called a Paradoxurus. Thats the scientific name, the locals call them luwaks. These little mammals live in the trees and one of their favorite foods is the red, ripe coffee cherry. They eat the cherries, bean and all. While the bean is in the little guys stomach, it undergoes chemical treatments and fermentations. The bean finishes its journey through the digestive system, and exits. The still-intact beans are collected from the forest floor, and are cleaned, then roasted and ground just like any other coffee.
The resulting coffee is said to be like no other. It has a rich, heavy flavour with hints of caramel or chocolate. Other terms used to describe it are earthy, musty and exotic. The body is almost syrupy and its very smooth.

One must wonder about the circumstances that brought about the first cup of Kopi Luwak coffee. Who would think to (or even want to) collect and roast beans out of animal feces? Perhaps a native figured it was easier to collect the beans from the ground this way, rather than having to work harder and pick them from the trees? Well likely never know. But because of the strange method of collecting, there isnt much Kopi Luwak produced in the world. The average total annual production is only around 500 pounds of beans.

Because of the rarity of this coffee, the price is quite outrageous. If you can find a vendor, the current cost for a pound of Kopi Luwak is around $300 or more. Some more adventurous coffee houses are selling it by the cup, but you wont likely find it at your local coffee shop just yet. The coffee isnt so spectacular that its truly worth that amount of money. You are paying for the experience of enjoying such an unusual and rare delicacy.

[Andy]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

Yeah, tis a Civet poo cuppa

[clarexican]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

They believe that SARS comes from people eating "bush meat" from civet cats, I wonder if you could get it from handling/drinking Kopi Luwak too? I doubt it (due to viral survival times etc), but it gives you pause for thought!

clarexican

[garglebutt]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

Not much point in buying this even if you are keen as the real supply is miniscule and I would think it is far less than 500 lb so what you buy is almost certainly something even more dubious.

I reckon it would taste predominantly like crap and my only curiosity is how stoned the guy was who first decided to collect the beans and roast them up. :-X

[fatboy_1999]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

At Celebrate the Bean earlier this year, it was mentioned by one of the ladies doing a talk that she had tried a coffee which was represented to her as being Kopi Luwak or a similar type. In reality the roasted beens had just been modified using caramel or dark sugar and other ingredients to make it smell unique.

Even if you are crazy enough to try this sh*t (pun intended), you might be getting a $7 coffee anyway.

[bancroft]

Mmmm... smooth as cat shit

FYI - story in Courier Mail newspaper, Brisbane, 2 Nov 2006


So much for Queensland not being cultured
by Melissa Maugeri

"The state now boasts the nations most expensive cup of coffee, and it comes courtesy of the digestive tract of a cat-like creature from the jungles of Indonesia.
The rare Kopi Luwak coffee brew will soon be on the menu at Herveys Range Heritage Tea Rooms, about 40 minutes west of Townsville – for $50 a cup.
The beans for the exclusive brew are retrieved from the droppings of the luwak, a cat-like member of the civet family which is found in Indonesias Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi.
Luwaks like eating ripe coffee cherries, but are apparently particular about which ones they choose – seeking out only the most luscious.
The inner bean is not digested, meaning they can be retrieved from the luwak poo.
The beans are then washed and given only a light roast so as to not destroy the complex flavours which develop through the whole process – and then sold for up to $1250 per kg.
Fans of the brew say the luwaks stomach enzymes break down proteins in the beans, making a smoother brew with no bitterness.
Dutch coffee connoisseur Bob Dam has described the coffee as having a fine chocolate aroma which "tastes delicious at the back of the throat".
Heritage Tea Rooms owner Allan Sharpe reckons the coffee beans are rarer than diamonds.
"Weve spoken to our import company and to our knowledge we are the only cafe in Australia selling this coffee," he said.
"Im not kidding myself that well sell heaps but people come here for an experience and many dont mind paying for that – it is a beautiful coffee."
The Sharpes initially imported 4.5kg of Kopi Luwak, almost 2 per cent of this years production. But for those who arent willing to part with $50 for a cuppa, Mrs Sharpe says the cafes standard $3.50 espresso is a fine alternative."


Bancroft

[TC]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

Yeah riiiiight... :. I see a jar of the stuff (500g maybe) which has been sitting around going stale for months.....or...maybe equally well, a pack of stale pods....And then what happens when they get the shot wrong and you send it back because it tastes like a cup o merde?? ;D

All sounds like catdust to me

2mcm

[CoffeeChaser]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

I have been to plenty of cafes where the coffee has been crap and paid less than 3 dollars for it. I dont like cats so I dont think I would drink something that has gone through their digestive system.
I think there was a bad miss in the article. They said rarer than diamonds, could have been rarer than rocking horse poo!

[grendel]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

Wait for the clever bastard who decides you can create farmed Kopi Luwak. The we can all enjoy the debate about whether it is better from the wild or the farm. . .

[CoffeeChaser]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

Than there will be free range or cage cats. Organic fed. The possibilities are endless really.

[nunu]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

How about unwashed?

Ewwww

[Thundergod]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

One must wonder about the circumstances that brought about the first cup of Kopi Luwak coffee. Who would think to (or even want to) collect and roast beans out of animal feces?  Perhaps a native figured it was easier to collect the beans from the ground this way, rather than having to work harder and pick them from the trees? Well likely never know.

Im guessing they found the first beans after they were washed free by rain.

As an aside, I play an online game and am using the name Kopi Luwak this time around. ;D

[Bart]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

Considering that the civet is a cat like creature, one can only assume that Kopi Luwak would make an excellent "CATPOOCHINO!"  ;D

Bart.

[Thundergod]

Re: Kopi Luwak- expensive coffee

Considering that the civet is a cat like creature, one can only assume that Kopi Luwak would make an excellent "CATPOOCHINO!"  ;D

Bart.

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