People have all kinds of differences. They are divided by borders, religion, politics, cultural differences, sport… almost everything you can think of.  But all people have one thing in common. Okay, two things- and the second thing is their universal love for coffee…Do you Kopi?…

The history of coffee

Coffee is made from the seeds of berries of the coffee plant. This plant originates in the area we now know as Ethiopia/Somalia, and Somalian and Yemenite travelers already drank coffee for centuries- at least since the 15th century A.D.

But coffee as the worldwide favorite drink is a fairly recent development.

Europe’s first contact with coffee was in 1653 when a Greek student from Baliol college in Oxford brought some with him from Crete. The oldest coffeehouse still in existence was opened in Oxford in 1654. And after the defeat of the Turks, who had besieged Vienna, Austrian troops found lots of coffee in the abandoned army camps. Soon after that, the first Kaffee (coffeehouse, or café) opened there. The Dutch East Indian Company was the first worldwide dealer in coffee, soon followed by their British competitor. Most recent scientific studies imply drinking coffee is even quite healthy, so what is not to like…

Difference in coffee

But as with all things, there is a difference between rich and not that rich people. Normal people drink espresso, Mocca, or whatever the supermarkets sell. But if you have a few dollars more to spend, you can get yourself a nice cup of Kooi Luwak.

Kopi Luwak

Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world. It is mainly produced in the Philippines and Vietnam. It costs anything between 200 and 600 dollars per kilo, depending on availability and quality. This high price is not, however, the result of exclusive berries – far from it. The special taste (and a special price!) of Kopi Luwak is the result of the way its made.

Kopi Luwak tastes sweet and fruity, something you would not expect when you know where it comes from. The coffee beans are namely harvested from the feces of civets. That’s right; it’s actually catshit. In order to acquire the sweet taste, coffee beans need to pass through the digestive system of the Civet cats.

Originally this was a natural process- Civet cats live on or near the plantations. But with high prices comes human greed. So today, Civet cats are held in captivity on the plantations, in small cages with hardly any space to do anything but eating the beans- if they like it or not.

And when it comes to the taste of Kopi Luwak, many, if not most, experts are not that impressed. They say the stuff tastes like almost any other “normal” coffee, most say it tastes like a bad Mocca. And when you just paid 600$  for a kilo, for one kilo that’s a little bit exaggerated, isn’t it…But tjsaaa the difference is in the quality and the taste.

Just so you know

Another exclusive product I strongly recommend you to taste is Penja pepper, a pinch of pepper with a unique and exquisite taste. Click here to find out more.