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So what's the verdict? Come on, out with it! After a couple of sips, both men offered : smooth. Did I hear 'Interesting' muttered . I wonder if it referred to having a chance to taste the 'gold' from the civet? But I was too occupied to quiz them nor interested in 'civet coffee' . Also, I did not hear anyone asking for another cuppa! Well, there's more coffee to be drunk as the golden package sits in the pantry barely done.
We were in Georgetown, Penang, over the Xmas season. At lunch in a popular tourist centre, after our order of kueh, we were asked,' Kopi Luwak anyone?' No one jumped to it. But we were jolted out of our skin when told it was RM 65 per cuppa!
The bushy tailed and cat-like civet, Luwak ( local name for the Asian Palm Civet) is the darling of the Kopi Luwak. The half - digested cherry berries found in the dung are reputed to produce the Kopi Luwak. The animal eats the soft outer part of the coffee berries and excretes the undigested beans which the local gather. Voila! the world's most expensive coffee is in their hands.
But rising demands have prompted producers to cage the animals and feed them on a regular diet of coffee berries. Experts say the cage- bred ' civet coffee' is not the same, its flavour is not as unique as those produced by civets that eat berries in the wild. Why? Experts say the civet's finicky feeding habits and varied diet creates enyzmes that enrich the fermentation of the beans.
'The coffee does not appeal to everyone - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono took some as a gift to former Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd, only to find local media dubbing it 'crappucino'. - Reuters.
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| Attractively packaged Kopi Luwak |
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