Kopi Luwak _ Weasel coffee
Kopi Luwak _ Weasel coffee
What is Kopi Luwak?
Kopi Luwak, also known as civet coffee (Civet Coffee), is known as a specialty of Indonesia. The name "Kopi Luwak" comes from Indonesian with the meaning that Kopi symbolizes coffee and Luwak means Civet.
How did people discover weasel coffee?
It is considered an accidental and surprising discovery of people attached to the history of coffee production, where at that time people could not help but enjoy coffee. At that time, Indonesia was a Dutch colony and Indonesian workers were under the control of the plantation owners. Therefore, workers are not allowed to collect coffee beans and use them for their own purposes. Instead of accepting the rules and giving up their favorite drink, the workers found an opportunity to excel in the most unfavorable conditions. They tried picking up the remaining beans in ferret feces because they were not digested, then washed, dried, and roasted them. This unique and distinct flavor is created through the fermentation process. More specifically, the proteins that are the main factors determining the flavor of coffee are transformed from the absorption of the beans by enzymes available in the ferret's digestive tract.
Accordingly, this new type of coffee has grown widely and is loved by shop owners. However, due to these unusual characteristics, the quantity of beans obtained is definitely scarce and the price has skyrocketed. In addition, because beans were scarce, this drink was enjoyed almost exclusively in Indonesia and became the most luxurious coffee in the 18th century.
What is the actual cost to enjoy premium coffee?
At present, with prices ranging from $150 to $227 per pound and less than 700 kg of coffee produced annually, Weasel Coffee continues to be the rarest and most expensive coffee in the world. However, this small-volume and uncommon type of coffee has become very familiar to Western society. Nowadays, the demand for Weasel Coffee from customers in the West and other regions is increasing, "Weasel Coffee" is being produced in other Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam and Laos with many different versions. With such high prices, many manufacturers try to profit from fake products sold as weasel coffee or low-quality products made from a blend of real weasel coffee beans and coffee beans. In fact, it is extremely difficult to recognize whether weasel coffee beans are real or fake. Furthermore, there are "black market counterfeit goods", which use chemicals to promote maximum digestive effects.
On the other hand, according to an investigation by BBC reporters conducted in 2013, it was shown that to be able to obtain one of the most expensive coffees in the world like this, many civets had to suffer that the cages were completely empty and dirty. That means these animals are forced to eat coffee cherries and live in a limited space of "two and a half meters and a cement floor" instead of in natural conditions as the manufacturers advertise. In addition, signals of animal cruelty are also found in the production process when the behaviors and diets of these wild animals are forced to change for human commercial purposes, for example, they cannot climb into the cage because there is no place for them to do so.
For the above reasons, the production and consumption of civet coffee needs to be strictly controlled with close coordination of local authorities and responsible organizations so that wild civet cats are not at risk of extinction strain.
What is the growth potential for weasel coffee?
In Laos, there are still many tropical forests, so the number of wild ferrets is still large. Thanks to those wild weasels, the production of real and authentic weasel coffee is constantly growing. However, the quantity is not large because we cannot control the input material from natural mink.
In Indonesia, the country's population continues boom and tropical forests are decreasing. Those things will affect the amount of weasel coffee in the future.
In Vietnam, there are not many wild ferrets left in the natural environment because the country's tropical forests have disappeared in recent decades. Another reason is that local restaurants across Vietnam consume a lot of wild civets as a specialty dish. Therefore, it is very difficult to find real weasel coffee in Vietnam today. Most types of coffee called civet coffee in Vietnam are made from caged "civets" and from coffee beans mixed with artificial flavors. Some are even made from soy with artificial flavors.
Huong Mai cafe owns a large coffee growing area and a natural way of raising weasels, ensuring humanity and ensuring to bring customers the best quality weasel coffee, without mixing impurities.
Understanding humanity, Huong Mai Cafe always cares about the living environment of weasels and creates conditions for them to live and grow in the best environment.
To conclude, Weasel Coffee is a specialty coffee. This is a unique type of coffee from Southeast Asia. The output of weasel coffee is not much each year. It is believed that today there is not much genuine natural weasel coffee. Some are said to be made from civets instead of wild civets and some are made from coffee beans laced with artificial chemicals. In addition, recently there has been a lot of controversy about the use of Weasel Coffee.