A friend and I happened upon this famous java coincidentally one afternoon. We were cruising through the jungle on a motorbike when a monsoon hit. We were looking for respite, when we began seeing signs like the ones that hang outside every mom and pop cafe in New York City boasting "best coffee on earth."
We pulled over, parked and walked through a canopy of banana leaves to the entrance of a plantation.
The path lead to a small bungalow surrounded by rolling hills of coffee.
The owner of the plantation approached. Before we could order, he insisted on explaining the intricate process of his unique brew. We couldn't understand him with his strong accent, so we just smiled and nodded in unison until he finally served us a cup.
It tasted more like Mexican hot cocoa than coffee; thick and creamy with a heavy sediment of grounds settled at the bottom. It was about the size of two espresso shots from Starbucks and cost five US dollars. A fortune in Indonesia, but a bargain for this rare delicacy.
On the way out I noticed a row of rusty cages hiding behind some trees. At first I saw nothing inside of them. I then noticed each contained one large possum-size rodent lurking in the back. I was standing in front of them when the owner came over, slid up one of the doors and grabbed a pellet from underneath a screen situated at the bottom of the cage. He then held the pellet up in the sunlight pointing at it and once again going back into lecture mode. Later that day, I did some research of my own.
Turns out the coffee gets its namesake and its flavor from this furry little mammal called a Luwak. The rodents are force fed the coffee cherries which ferment in their digestive systems and are ready for brew by the time they come out their rears.
Ain't that shitty?
No comments:
Post a Comment