How About Trying a Cup of Kopi Kuwak for a Change?

As a person of habit I do not miss an opportunity to have a cup of hot coffee in the morning. As I can not always have the luxury to sip my “cafezinho brasileiro” (the Brazilian version of the espresso coffee) I settle for a café latte from Starbucks or a Panera Bread hazelnut coffee. As much as I enjoy the black stuff pure or combined with milk, I would definitely live without it if I found one day that I would have to pay as much as fifty bucks a cup, or about seven hundred per pound. Somehow, based on the cost factor alone I would not be able to enjoy coffee as much as I do now.

There is more to it than just pricing. One particular product is called Kopi Kuwak, an exotic coffee produced on the Islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in Indonesia. What makes it so special is the way it is processed. The ripest and the reddest Arabica coffee berries are eaten by an animal called the Asian Palm Civet, which lives in tree tops and is commonly found in that region. The berries pass through the animal’s digestive system and are easily broken down by the action of acids and other enzymatic factors. The beans whithin the berries are not digested and are eventually expelled in the animals feces.

Those beans are then harvested in the field in a very meticulous way by qualified professionals. They are washed, then roasted and ready to serve. Eventually the product will end up in the cup of some privileged individuals, who can afford to have such exotic pleasures.

From the perspective of my culture that is something quite “different” and hard to understand. I have great respect for the person who enjoys this rarest coffee delicacy. All I can say is that knowledge makes all the difference in the world. If somebody offered it to me without giving me the history behind it I might have drunk it and enjoyed it as much as I would enjoy drinking my regular Starbuck’s coffee. I do not think I will be willing to try it any time soon but if I change my mind I will let you know.