We called it Kape musang.... meron nitong benta sa Rustans 1 carton box parang sanmig coffee php 1990 ang isang box.
And so what is the most expensive coffee I hear you ask. Well the answer, my friends, is Kopi Luwak or as it is know in English, Civet Coffee, which can fetch up to $700 per kilogram. Extortionate you may think, and what on earth could make coffee so expensive. The truth is, quite simply, that these coffee beans have been ingested (and then, in due time, excreted) by an Asian Palm Civet, ready to be prepared for human drinking pleasure. It is due to the rarity of the coffee, as well as the pretty off-the-wall journey it takes, that creates such high prices that along with the famed (and often contested) delicious aroma and taste.
Kopi Luwak originated in the Dutch East Indies, in Java and Sumatra, where the Dutch had established coffee plantations in the early 18th Century. The local farmers were not permitted to use the coffee fruits for personal use, but were interested in sampling the brew which they were growing. It was soon established that the small cat like creature, the Luwak (Asian Palm Civet), was partial to the coffee fruits, however the coffee seeds would remain undigested in their droppings and this gave the locals the chance to clean, roast, ground and sample the bean. The Dutch soon became aware of this locally brewed coffee and it quickly became a favourite.
So what about the taste that makes this so popular? Of course, how can one really define taste? What is a delicacy to one person may taste like absolute poop to another (pun very much intended). But there has been a lot of debate about whether the coffee should be regarded as something special. Th SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) does not agree with the idea that the unusual process creates a tastier coffee. In fact, they believe that the desire for the coffee is built around legend and novelty rather than any true quality improvement. Many taste tests have been run on the coffee itself and results have done nothing but to suggest that the only really significant thing about Civet Coffee is its rarity.
It has been suggested that it is the process of the bean traveling through the digestive tract of the Civet that creates the unique flavour. Studies have suggested that enzymes within the animal do work to break down proteins within the bean. Others argue that this just creates a coffee with less body and a thinner taste.
The productions of the coffee is of course focused around the ingestion of the coffee by the Civets. In the wild, the Civet would naturally eat the coffee berries due to their sweet fruit pulp. After some time making their way through the civet, the still intact coffee beans are then excreted, cleaned and are ready to prepare just as a normal coffee bean would be. Wild Civet Coffee can in fact fetch a much higher price on the market, with a kilogram potentially reaching $3000.
Modern day production often takes place on Civet farms with Sumatra being the largest producer of Civet Coffee. These farms however, often subject the civets to conditions equivalent to those inflicted upon battery chickens, with tiny cages and poor diets being forced upon the Civets. A number of animal rights groups suggest that there must be much more awareness about how the coffee is prepared to help combat mistreatment of the animal who fans of the coffee owe much to. So it would seem that if this is something you are interested in, only the wild beans should be considered.
So what are your thoughts on this infamous coffee? Is it something you would like to try? Or does it just sounds gross to you? In fact are you a fan of coffee at all?
Source:
http://hungryhouse.co.uk/blog/kopi-luwak-the-worlds-most-expensive-coffee/
