Posted on 12/09/2005 2:30:19 PM PST by StoneWallJack
The Palm Civet or marsupial luwak of Indonesia a tree climbing animal that ranges in weight from three to ten pounds uses it’s sense of smell and eyesight to seek out it’s favorite treat the ripest coffee cherries. The Palm Civet or Luwak passes the cherry through the digestive track where the beans exit the animal basically intact. The beans are then patiently harvested from the forest floor near coffee plantations carefully cleaned and roasted.
The beans are usually given a light to dark roast to avoid destruction of the complex flavors which have developed through the process. This “unique processing” is said to give the resulting coffee a rich, heavy flavor with some hints of caramel or chocolate. Some other words used to describe this cup of joe by those fortunate enough to try it have been earthy, musty and exotic with syrupy body and smooth flavor.
The University of Guelph did a study in which they examined the chemical and physical properties of the Kopi Luwak coffee bean and compared them to that of a “regular” coffee bean. Their results are quite interesting. They found the unroasted Kopi Luwak coffee beans had more red and yellow tones than a Columbian coffee bean. They also found the Kopi Luwak gourmet coffee bean to have less total protein, less bacterial count, some pitting on the surface of the coffee bean and different compounds. This may explain why the Kopi Luwak coffee is said to be less bitter and have a different aroma than other gourmet coffee.
Although this gourmet coffee’s exact date of discovery is not known. The strange origins of this rare gourmet coffee make it labor-intensive and time-consuming to produce. Gourmet coffee lovers are willing to pay a premium for this rare and exotic blend and consider it worth the effort and trouble involved. Here is your chance to be among the few who have tried Kopi Luwak coffee. We have been able to secure a small quantity of Kopi Luwak coffee at a substantial discount and once sold out we do not know when we will be able to procure more.
OUCH.
Takes awhile to build up that coffee sludge scale.
Has anyone read the book The Coffee Trader? It was most excellent.
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