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Weasel coffee – the cuppa with that bit extra

Published: 26/01/2009 05:00

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It is extremely rare, very tasty, is considered a luxury, yet has passed through the stomach and intestine of a small mammal!

Lookatvietnam - It is extremely rare, very tasty, is considered a luxury, yet has passed through the stomach and intestine of a small mammal!

The Central Highlands region of Vietnam , famous for its coffee, is one of the few places in the world to produce ‘weasel coffee’, a special kind of coffee made from beans that have been swallowed and digested by weasels.

Originating in Indonesia , the coffee, named Kopi Luwak, is considered the most luxurious of drinks. Each year, the world’s coffee producers supply just 200-300 kg of weasel coffee, with an astronomical price tag of 1,200-4,500 USD/kg. The amount is just enough to keep a small group of well-off coffee addicts supplied with their favourite tipple.

Experts say that the drink is made from plump Arabica beans that have a high caffeine content and possess a potent scent derived from the digestive system of the grey weasel (also known as the palm civet) whose scientific name is “paradoxurus hermaphraditus.”

The fruit seeds, what we call the coffee ’beans’, are a favourite treat of the weasel and pass though the animal largely undigested. The resulting beans, when washed and sun-dried, undergo a remarkable change, possessing a uniquely smooth and delicious flavour. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the civet, a fussy little animal, selects only the best and ripest beans to eat, but may also be a result of the beans being modified by enzyme reactions on their journey through the critter’s stomach.

With two stripes on its back, the Mjia weasel is considered the ideal weasel for processing coffee.

Mjia weasels are believed to be especially fond of four-to-five-year-old coffee plants that produce round and succulent beans.

Seeking clues that may indicate that weasels have been at their beans, farmers often check their coffee plants early in the morning for weasel footprints – two front claws, one back claw and a curved inside claw.

Folklore or not, it is often said that, before climbing the coffee plant, the weasel will often check the tree twice or even three times. If the weasel leaves the tree in the same direction it came from, then it will never return, but if it proceeds in another direction, it will probably return between 10pm and 11pm for its final, and heavily caffeinated, meal of the evening.
At a recent coffee festival in Buon Me Thuot city, Dak Lak province, Vietnam ’s largest coffee

producer, Trung Nguyen Coffee, offered its unique weasel coffee, Legendee, which retails at 3,000 USD/kg, as gifts to high-ranking leaders and diplomats attending the event.

Boosting investment in weasel coffee production will help Vietnam, one of the world’s leading coffee producers and exporters, to create the branding, prestige and uniqueness of its product.

VietNamNet/VNA

Provide by Vietnam Travel

Weasel coffee – the cuppa with that bit extra - Lifestyle - News |  vietnam travel company

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