This Coffee Is The Shit

Indonesian delicacy? Coffee made from beans gathered from civet crap.

In the animals' stomachs, enzymes in the gastric juices massage the beans, smoothing off the harsh edges that make coffee bitter and produce caffeine jitters. Humans then separate the greenish-brown beans from the rest of the dung, and once a thin outer layer is removed, they are ready for roasting. The result is a delicacy with a markup so steep it would make a drug dealer weep.

It's called kopi luwak, from the Indonesian words for coffee and civet, and by the time it reaches the shelves of swish foreign food emporiums, devotees fork out as much as $600 for a pound — if they can even find that much. The British royal family is said to enjoy sipping it. A single cup can sell for $30 at a five-star hotel in Hong Kong.

Enjoy it with a nice bowl of Bird's Nest Soup, made from the saliva and excrement of cave swifts.

Content warning for the inevitable linkage of the worst scene ever from Austin Powers.

As someone said about Scotland's guts, viscera, and blood pudding based cuisine, "The entire national cookbook seems based on a dare."

Thanks to dri.

posted by Ace at 04:46 PM

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