Indonesia — Semarang, Trying Kopi Luwak (civet poop coffee, a.k.a, Cat-Pooh-Chino)

Borobudur is not the only Buddhist temple in this area. There are two others, and together all three from a straight line on a map. With Borobudur anchoring the west end of this line and Mendut the east, there lies between those two a third — Pawon Temple. I’ll be showing that temple to you in Wednesday’s article. As for today, I’m going to present of Javan delicacy. That would be a cup of java. Or, to be more precise, a cup of Kopi Luwak from the nearby Pawon Luwak Coffee. And this coffee would not be possible without the hero of today’s tale (or is that “tail”?) Meet the Asian palm civet, which is also known as the toddy cat:

Apparently toddy cats love coffee beans, which throug a roundabout way is how we get kopi luwak. The little fellows eat the coffee beans and then, a while later, they give them back to us fermented after partially digesting them:

Don’t worry. What you see above is not how the beans are then roasted, brewed, and served. First they are thoroughly cleaned before further processing:

For a little before and after:

By the way, Pawon Luwak Coffee not only serves cat-pooh-chino; it’s also a bed-and-breakfast:

But our group was here to sample this delicacy. Or, well, most of us were here to sample it. Some in our tour group turned their noses up at the idea, for some strange reason. Anyway, the experience was interesting. The taste? Very high-end, I must say. Both Ursula and I were taken by the lack of any coffee bitterness even though it was a dark roasted and very strong brew. So, if you get out this way, don’t pooh-pooh the idea of trying some.

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