To anyone who watched The Bucket List. Do you remember what left a checkmark on their list next to the point "Laugh until we cry"? Well, this is what our story is going to be about.
Kopi Luwak. The most expensive coffee in the world. Unique flavor. Indonesian specialty. Exceptional way of acquiring seeds.
Coffee ate, etched and pooped by little forest animals called locally Luwak.
What's the story? After http://www.kopiluwak.org/baru/index.html
"The history of Kopi Luwak coffee comes from the Indonesian island of Java and Sumatra, an area well-known for its excellent coffee. Also native to the area is a small civet-like animal called a Paradoxurus. That’s 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 animal’s 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. Because of strange method of collecting, there is not much Kopi Luwak produced in the world. The resulting coffee is said to be like no other. It is rich, heavy flavor with hints of caramel or chocolate. Other terms used to describe it as earthy, musty and exotic. The body is almost syrupy and it is very smooth."
Okay, okay, few interesting facts, but you are probably wondering how did we get to know Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson.
One of our daytrips took us to Tanah Lot, temple build on the edge of amazing cliff right by the sea. Around the temple there is a big market with shops full of locally produced pieces, cheap 'Chinese type of production' souvenirs, restaurants and cafes.
Walking around we bumped into a café with few little animals sleeping on the tables and decided to ask the owner about them. They turned out to be luwaks called Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, John Bradshaw and Pancake. All of them sleeping quietly. Apparently they are night animals. Very kind ones. The owner brought them to this coffee place he just opened after the pandemic.
With such coincidence we just had to give it a try. Ach right, money. Let's talk it out. A cup of Luwak coffee costs here around 50k rupias (brief calculation: 3,20 EUR). Sounds affordable, right? Depending who you ask, coffee was either very good or "meh". Guess who's each judgement. <blinking eye>
Sad aspect of the story is that world yearly harvest of kopi luwak is around 300-400 kg and for high value of the coffee, luwaks are often taken from their natural environment, kept in cages and "used for production process". This is what we do for the business, isn't it? These 4 guys we met seemed to be at peace, the owner is taking care of them and they are really chilled, but still away from their home, not having their best time with the temperature and surrounding.
Hopefully one day we will reach the understanding of natural world and take from it as much as it gives, not as much as we wish.
