Monday, April 30, 2012

KOPI LUWAK, especially coffee famous



Sumatran kopi luwak farmer shows beans prior to cleaning and roasting,

Kopi luwak (Indonesian pronunciation:ˈkopi ˈlu.ak), or civet coffee, is one of the world's most expensive and low-production varieties of coffee. 



It is made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract.A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then defecated, keeping their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with
much less bitterness.[citation needed] This coffee is widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world with prices reaching $160 per pound.
Kopi luwak is produced mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago. It is also produced in the Philippines (where the product is called motit coffee in the Cordillera, kape alamid in Tagalog areas) and also produced in East Timor (where it is called kafé-laku). Weasel coffee is a loose English translation of its Vietnamese name cà phê Chồn, where popular, chemically simulated versions are also produced. However, Vietnam has 2 farms with 300 wild civets in Dak Lak. The farmers collect the coffee seeds and produce only 300 kg of authentic Vietnamese chon coffee. The civets live in the wild and are fed beef. The processed civet beans are imported to the UK to the farmers' sole UK supplier.
A cup of Kopi Luwak Gayo, Takengon, Aceh, Indonesia
The origin of Kopi Luwak is closely connected with the history of coffee production in Indonesia. In the early 18th century the Dutch established the cash-crop coffee plantations in their colony in the Dutch East Indies islands of Java and Sumatra, including Arabica coffee introduced from Yemen. During the era of Cultuurstelsel (1830—1870), the Dutch prohibited the native farmers and plantation workers from picking coffee fruits for their own use. Still, the native farmers wanted to have a taste of the famed coffee beverage. Soon, the natives learned that certain species of musang or luwak (Asian Palm Civet) consumed the coffee fruits, yet they left the coffee seeds undigested in their droppings. The natives collected these luwaks' coffee seed droppings, then cleaned, roasted and ground them to make their own coffee beverage. The fame of aromatic civet coffee spread from locals to Dutch plantation owners and soon became their favorite, yet because of its rarity and unusual process, the civet coffee was expensive even in colonial times.
Cultivars, blends, and tastes,  coffee beans,
Kopi luwak is a name for many specific cultivars and blends of arabica, robusta, liberica, excelsa or other beans eaten by civets, hence the taste can vary greatly. Nonetheless, kopi luwak coffees have a shared aroma profile and flavor characteristics, along with their lack of bitterness.
Kopi luwak has a thick texture, and tastes vary depending on roasting levels. Usually, levels range from cinnamon color to medium, with little or no carmelization of sugars within the beans as happens with heavy roasting. Moreover, kopi luwaks which have very smooth profiles are most often given a lighter roast, though at first taste it can seem a bit strong in flavor. Iced kopi luwak brews may bring out some flavors not found in other coffees. Other berries eaten by civets can give kopi luwak a pungent, sometimes bitter taste, though it varies depending on the diet of the civet.
Sumatra is the world's largest regional producer of kopi luwak. Sumatran civet coffee beans are mostly an early arabica variety cultivated in the Indonesian archipelago since the seventeenth century. The major Sumatran kopi luwak production area is in Lampung, Bengkulu and Aceh especially the Gayo region, Takengon.

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