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Animal Dung Coffee

obeygiant

obeygiant

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jan 14, 2002
4,254
4,240
totally cool
33bzptj.jpg

Costing hundreds of dollars a pound, these beans are found in the droppings of the civet, a nocturnal, furry, long-tailed catlike animal that prowls Southeast Asia’s coffee-growing lands for the tastiest, ripest coffee cherries. The civet eventually excretes the hard, indigestible innards of the fruit — essentially, incipient coffee beans — though only after they have been fermented in the animal’s stomach acids and enzymes to produce a brew described as smooth, chocolaty and devoid of any bitter aftertaste.

As connoisseurs in the United States, Europe and East Asia have discovered civet coffee in recent years, growing demand is fueling a gold rush in the Philippines and Indonesia, the countries with the largest civet populations. Harvesters are scouring forest floors in the Philippines, where civet coffee has emerged as a new business. In Indonesia, where the coffee has a long history, enterprising individuals are capturing civets and setting up minifarms, often in their backyards.

Neither the Indonesian government nor the Association of Indonesia Coffee Exporters breaks down civet coffee’s tiny share of Indonesia’s overall coffee production. The Association of Indonesian Coffee Luwak Farmers, created in 2009 to handle the rising demand for civet coffee, or kopi luwak, as it is called in Indonesian, said most civet producers were small-time businessmen who exported directly overseas.

Given the money at stake, fake and low-grade civet coffee beans are also flooding the market.
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NYT

I'll stick to Folgers, thanks anyway.
 
I never liked coffee anyhow. Tea, please! :D

Just give me some leaves to put in my hot water.
You can keep the stuff that's all roasted or excreted. :eek:

If the real thing is dug out of excrement, I wonder what the inevitable Chinese FAKE Civet coffee beans are made of? :eek:

Forget the tea! VODKA, Please!
Have Fun,
Keri
 
Would love to try the genuine article as it's supposed to be delicious. Very pricey, though. There was a rash of stories about it in the press over here a couple of years ago before the recession hit hard and some stores were selling it by the cup at exorbitant prices. Think Harrods have it here in the UK.

One of those foody things, like truffles, that may never be fully reproducible by other means.
 
I'd be hard pressed to even touch the container that would house this product. Not to mention bringing it anywhere near my lips. No thanks, I'll stick to my Caramel Latte with an extra shot of espresso from the St Louis Bread Co. (that's Panera to you non Missourians)
 
Malsi said:
I'd be hard pressed to even touch the container that would house this product. Not to mention bringing it anywhere near my lips. No thanks, I'll stick to my Caramel Latte with an extra shot of espresso from the St Louis Bread Co. (that's Panera to you non Missourians)
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Actually, Panera's Hazelnut roast is really really good. For me, up there with Kona Coffee.
 
Sorry for hijacking the thread! But I love food!

obeygiant said:
Actually, Panera's Hazelnut roast is really really good. For me, up there with Kona Coffee.
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When I was first introduced to Panera, that was all I drank. Then during the winter season I got hooked on the latte. Actually, I got hooked on everything they have. They have this new roastbeef bleu sandwich that makes my mouth water even thinking about it. And their Mac and cheese is addictive! Seriously, I think they use cocaine as a secret ingredient!
 
Blue Velvet said:
Would love to try the genuine article as it's supposed to be delicious. Very pricey, though. There was a rash of stories about it in the press over here a couple of years ago before the recession hit hard and some stores were selling it by the cup at exorbitant prices. Think Harrods have it here in the UK.

One of those foody things, like truffles, that may never be fully reproducible by other means.
Click to expand...

I had it in Indonesia. Its good but certainly isn't one of the best in the world. In some ways its like Blue Mountain: the reputation can never live up to the reality, and the treatment of it will never get it up there as one of the world's best.

Definitely worth trying though. Peter Jones were doing it for £50 a cup.

I paid £5, which given Indonesia's average cost is expensive.

The other one to try is Camocim Jacu, if you're into that sort of thing.....
 
I too would love to try the stuff except that I can't afford to pay the price. Well, maybe I could afford a sip or two.

I feel sad seeing the little Civet in the cage like that :(
 
A guy walks into a bar with his pet monkey.


He orders a drink and while he's drinking, the monkey jumps all around the place.


He grabs some olives from the bar and eats them, then grabs some sliced limes and eats them, then jumps onto the pool table, grabs one of the billiard balls, sticks it in his mouth, and to everyone's amazement, swallows it whole. 


The bartender screams at the guy, "Did you see what your monkey just did?"

The guy says "No, what?"


The bartender screams "He just ate the cue ball off my pool table-whole!" 


"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," replied the guy, "he eats everything in sight, the cheeky little beggar. Sorry. I'll pay for the cue ball and stuff."

He finishes his drink, pays his bill, pays for the stuff the monkey ate, then leaves. 


Two weeks later he's in the bar again, and has his monkey with him. 

He orders a drink and the monkey starts running around the bar again.

While the man is finishing his drink, the monkey finds a maraschino cherry on the bar.


He grabs it, sticks it up his bum, pulls it out, and eats it.
Then the monkey finds a peanut, and again sticks it up his bum, pulls it out, and eats it.

The bartender is disgusted. "Did you see what your monkey did now?" he asks.


"No, what?" replies the guy. 


"Well, he stuck a maraschino cherry and a peanut up his bum, pulled them out, and ate them!" said the bartender.


" Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," replied the guy. 


"He still eats everything in sight, but ever since he had to pass that cue ball, he measures everything first."
 
I even have a little left in a packet of beans I was gifted. Supposedly, the civet's digestive acids are supposed to mellow the flavour, the inner cherry skin covers the bean from the crap, and they are thoroughly cleaned and roasted: there really are no ickiness worries, it is all in your mind.

I brewed it in a glass vacuum pot (the best way to make coffee). To my taste, it was maybe too "good": I like a good sharp edge to my coffee, the Kope Luwak was smoother than what I prefer - almost bland.
 
You have to wonder who long ago first came up with the idea of examining civet droppings, picking through the poo for excreted coffee beans to roast and grind... and what sort of unholy caffeine withdrawal they must have been undergoing at the time.
 
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