From What I Read, it Doesn’t Taste Like Crap

I once heard  a comedian mull over the idea that someone actually thought to pour hot water over coffee beans and make a beverage out of it.  I wonder what he'd say to the fact that someone would pick through some mammal’s pooh to retrieve undigested coffee beans in order to pour hot water over them and make a beverage out of that.  It could be because they sell the stuff for $75 for a quarter pound.  Profit is a great motivator.  

I write this because a friend of mine recently announced that he wants to drink some monkey butt coffee.  His only deterrent is the exorbitant price.  I suspect that he will try to budget it in somehow.  That’s just the way he is.


It’s actually not a monkey at all, but a cat sized mammal named an Asian palm civet.  They call south-east Asia, parts of China and India home.  Indonesians call the little guys luwak.  They also consider them pests.  That is until they drop their #2.  After harvesting that golden feces and shipping it off to market, I’m sure they think of them a little differently.  Just sayin’

The little crappers are quite fond of the ripest coffee cherries.  Coffee in Indonesia is called kopi.  Through the digestive magic found within the bowels of the luwak, the coffee beans, upon defecation, are found somehow altered, making them more aromatic and less bitter when hot water is poured over them.  This makes for a more desirable cup of joe, judging by people’s willingness to fork over big bucks to savor it’s (butt cheeky) goodness.  The coffee is called kopi luwak, hence my reference to the Indonesian words for coffee and the Asian pine civet.  (That’ll be all the Indonesian you’ll ever get from this blog.  Promise.)  This picture to the left was actually used on a website advertising kopi luwak.  Makes you want a cup, doesn’t it?  Or perhaps to flush it?

If you do a little research online, you will find many people have tried kopi luwak and have blogged or otherwise written a review about their experience.  it would seem that it doesn’t taste like crap, as one might think it would.  I personally like Kona for the same reasons people like kopi luwak; aromatic, less bitter and very tasty.  It’s also a lot cheaper (but, still quite expensive).  Perhaps my friend could persuade me to try a cup.  Maybe.  But, if he calls it monkey butt coffee, I’m not sure I could.  We’re talkin’ crap here…