Kopi Luwak Coffee
January 23rd, 2008As Philip Richardson, my co-worker and fellow coffee snob, wrote about on his blog yesterday, a few of us in the office got together for a cupping of the Kopi Luwak coffee. Philip received this as a Christmas gift from a partner and I was totally thrilled that he was willing to share it. 
It’s not surprising that you probably haven’t heard of Kopi Luwak coffee. For one thing, only 500 pounds of beans are produced a year. For another, it’s about $200/lb and upper crust espresso shops sell it for about $50 a shot. To
top it all off, the coffee is literally collected from the shit of an Indonesian cat called a Luwak, which lives in trees and eats coffee beans.
No kidding. The little sheet of paper included in the package says…
The resulting coffee is said to be like no other. It has a rich, heavy flavor with hints of caramel or chocolate.
Other terms used to describe it are earth, musty, and exotic.
Musty?
I had originally suggested to Phil that we get in touch with Dave Schomer of Espresso Vivace, arguably one of the best baristas in the world. Turns out we needn’t look outisde the halls for talent and equipment. Terry, our CRM Perf Test Lead, is a fellow coffee fanatic. He showed up yesterday with a Brewtus Expobar (as recommended by David Schomer), a Mazza Mini burr grinder, and something that totally blew my mind: a gram-weight scale. When it comes to coffee, the CRM team doesn’t mess around.
Terry was measuring 23 grams to the shot and with a quarter pound each of bold and medium roasts, gave us exactly ten shots. Enough for each person to get a shot from both roasts.
The Bold. It was go big or go home, so we started off with the bold. Damn, these guys aren’t messing around, this is good coffee. The pull started dark and evened out quickly, staying a rich brown all the way through. Taste was good, with full expression of all the oils in the bean, but I wouldn’t have paid $50.
The Medium. Realistically, I’m not ever one to pay 50 bucks on a shot of espresso, but this one might change my mind. Stunningly better than the bold, it was absolutely fantastic with a rich caramel color and a thick, thick, thick shot from top to bottom. Not a single hint of bitterness with a delicious sweet taste coating the inside of my mouth at the end. I dare say it cleanly beats Vivace, though at the price…
Wow. Pretty good for something that came out of the tail end of an Indonesian cat.
January 23rd, 2008 at 1:33 pm
So many jokes to make, so little time… I think I will stick to my little crappy Tassimo machine… Turd Coffee…
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Auntie Josie served that coffee during Kenneth’s party. His wife, Veronica was from Indonesia and her relatives brought over Kopi Luwak ground coffee. It was brewed under a regular coffee maker and we have no clue what the coffee/water ratio should be. As a result, the coffee was quite bitter.
February 7th, 2008 at 8:48 am
What a great report. Can I use the last picture of the ‘machine’ on future blogs? (Sips autogen’d Starbucks brew from the machine in our building.)
February 21st, 2008 at 10:22 am
Hi there, We met at Stumptown on 12th ave,
I saw the coffee post on your blog and I got this email sent to me about this cafe’ and I thought you might want to taste test.
Black coffee so good, adding milk or sugar is a sin
Cheat on your barista at this U-District cafe, where they do drip differently. Their bean varieties come from small-batch growers in Kenya, Ethiopia, El Salvador and Guatemala, and the owners visit the farms themselves (they have pictures to prove it). State-of-the-art brewing machines then custom-brew your cup, adjusting the water temperature and brewing time for your bean of choice. The result is a smooth, rich, distinct cup of joe that beats a plain old Americano any day of the week.
http://seattle.citysearch.com/profile/40861956/
March 1st, 2008 at 4:42 am
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May 22nd, 2008 at 10:39 am
Hi,
I just receive a pack of Luwak coffee bean today. But, I don’t have expresso machine. Do you think it will be a waste to brew this Luwak coffe by using the regular coffee make??
June 21st, 2008 at 3:06 am
Nah, I think I won’t drink such coffee! Usual coffee should be better
July 5th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
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July 7th, 2008 at 2:48 am
Kopi Luwak - Coffee With A Twist
Movie buffs who recently saw the Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson movie, the Bucket List; have been digging up on kopi luwak coffee, that exotic and expensive brew that Jack’s character indulges on in the movie. If you happen to be one them and …
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October 15th, 2008 at 1:22 am
Original Luwak Civet coffee only come from Indonesia…not from vietnam (weasel coffee) or anywhere else..
The Original luwak coffee bean..must come from natural process..not from pet civet…who forced to eat coffee berries.
you can find our original civet coffee here: http://www.luwakcivetcoffee.com
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