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.