Monday, August 31, 2009

Kopi Luwak - Indonesian Civet Coffee


"Ignorant" should have been my middle name.
I grew up in Indonesia, and my only knowledge of "luwak" had been limited to knowing that it has something to do with coffee.


I only learnt that Kopi Luwak is a highly coveted and super pricey coffee when I watched a Hong Kong TV program recently (shame on me :p).

What makes Kopi Luwak so good expensive?

Luwak, or Civet the cat (or the weasel), picks the best coffee cherries, eats them, helps make the coffee less bitter and spills the undigested beans (if you really wanna know more...ask uncle wiki).

Wait a minute!
So it's weasel's crap?
We're gonna drink it?
...and it is EXPENSIVE???!!!

It's IDR165,000 (around HKD127 or USD16) for a sachet of 10 grams.
It's an expensive sachet of weasel crap!

But we aren't exactly gonna drink weasels' crap.

The undigested beans found in the crap had to go quite a labour intensive process before ending up in my cup, including cleaning, sun drying, and high temperature roasting. No bacteria should be able to survive that. The long cleaning process as well as super limited supply contribute to its expensiveness.

Call me weird, but I was never put off by the coffee-beans-found-in-a-pile-of-crap thing.


It only made me wanna try it even more! ^_^
I had my kopi luwak just like how I normally have my coffee. Slightly sweetened with a bit of milk. No fancy coffee press, no fancy coffee maker, just the way they do it in back home in Indonesia.

Coffee fragrance filled the room as I poured boiling water into the cup....

...I added a bit of sugar (and a bit of milk if you want, or try it without milk to really taste it), stirred for a bit, then I stopped stirring, and waited for the coffee granules to settle.

Patience is the key, drinkers. You really have to wait until it has completely settled. Otherwise, you're gonna be munching some coffee granules and it ain't no fun.

Since I only had one sachet and everyone wanted to try, we divided the cup into small shot glasses.
Shit good thing is best for sharing, right?


...and we have two more eager tasters...panting, hoping, begging by the table...


So, we gave in and let them have a lick...


Seriously, this can't be good for the dog????!!!!


How did it taste?
Kopi luwak is well known for its mild flavors and lack of bitterness.
It was indeed mild and not at all bitter.
But was it craveable?


Judging from Ah Yi's smirk...

It's definitely something worth trying once in our lifetime...but I won't be running to get another sachet anytime soon.

My smirk isn't as photogenic as Ah Yi's, thus it shall remain unposted.

13 comments:

KennyT said...

Hahaha, I can't believe u fed kopi luwak to your dogs! I had one from Vietnam, it was superb, but as I'm so lazy, I am all happy with the instant coffee I have.

Lidia Sianturi said...

Hahaha..ternyata foto doggie-ne onok hubungane karo kopi luwak toh...nek biasane istilahe finger licking good, iki istilahe opo Rit? hehehe...

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

You grew up in Indonesia? Cool! I guess you speak Bahasa Indonesia, then? :) Yes, I learned about this coffee on TV. Creepy, I agree ... but then I also watched a documentary on cordyceps, and it was also creepy ... but that doesn't stop me from drinking my yummy cordyceps soup! Heh.

Little Corner of Mine said...

Wow, interesting to know there is this kind of coffee. And your doggies are so cute!

EatTravelEat said...

I remember hearing about this type of coffee on one of TVB's shows. But now that I can see the coffee and how it looks makes a difference! In the show I couldn't.

The dogs look so cute and sharp and stayed so still! To the fact I almost thought they were dolls. That is until I read what you wrote after.

Unknown said...

kenny, on most days, I love my nescafe too ^_^

lidia, wes tau njajal durung kopi luwak? ngko nek balek indo tuku

little teochew...yes, i was born and raised in indonesia ^_^. bahasa indonesia is my first language, i still speak in thick javanese accent :p

locm, try it when you have a chance...the dogs...sadly aren't mine :p

ETE yeah, you must have watched moses chan's show too! the dogs didn't stay still at all (they never do)...it required super high iso and many many MANY shots to get some ok ones...

ai wei said...

i love ur blog. it's amazing. the photos are great!

Cakelaw said...

LOL - I think I would be a tad put off by the "beans in weasel crap"n thing, but it is certaibnly interesting!

pam said...

I don't know. Beans in weasel crap doesn't actually sound all that appealing to me.

Unknown said...

ai wei, thanks for dropping by. i am glad you like it

cakelaw and pam...LOL yeah many people got put off by the idea of beans outta some weasels crap...but no worries the beans had been cleaned and processed thoroughly...and i am still 100% A OK as of today ^_^

Kana said...

This is the first time i have heard of pets and coffee :)

Anonymous said...

I would love to try that and those dogs are so kawaii!!!!!!!!!!

I even showed my girlfriend the link just to share that adorable picture of doggie coffee mustache.

Coffee_lovers said...

Kopi Luwak / Civet COffee is the best and most expensive coffee in the world.
Indonesian Original High Class Coffee.
you can get kopi luwak with reasonable price at :
http://classic-kopiluwak.com/english-version/