Chris' Corner of Culinary Delights - Luwak Coffee

We visited a coffee plantation whilst in Bali, and sampled a wide variety of interesting flavor-infused coffees and teas.  Some of our favorites were the coconut and ginger varieties.  However, the most interesting item on offer was the famous (infamous) Luwak Coffee, known far and wide for its high price tag and its unusual origins.

You see, it all starts with an animal called the Asian palm civet, or luwak, as the Balinese call it.   It's a ferret-like creature with a hankering for coffee beans.  But the crafty luwak eats only the finest fruit available, passing over any that do not pass his strenuous inspection.  The bean then makes its way through the luwak's digestive system, eventually re-emerging as eaten things often do.  It's then collected and brewed into the world's most expensive cup of joe.  

The lewak, making his magic coffee beans

Paradoxurus indeed. They make it sound so magical.

Of course, we needed to sample the resulting brew for ourselves to find out what all the fuss was about.

The verdict?  It was good.  It tasted exactly like coffee!  But there was definitely no discernible lewakiness to it.  Perhaps our coffee palates are not as refined as they need to be to detect the subtleties infused by the civet's digestive process, but for our money, we'll stick with the cheaper variety harvested the old fashioned way.

I will hand it to the marketing wizards who came up with this coffee however.  It is a rare talent that can convince lots of people to pay up mightily to imbibe liquid luwak poo.  Still, perhaps we need to talk to a real coffee connoisseur.  

Have you sampled this coffee and, if so, what were your thoughts?  The real deal or a real gimmick?  Let me know!