Kopi Luwak
Kopi is the Indonesian word for coffee. Luwak
is a local name of the Asian Palm Civet in Sumatra. Kopi luwak or Civet coffee is originally from
the Island of Sumatra and Java in Indonesia.
1830-1870 The Dutch prohibited the native
farmers and plantation workers from picking coffee fruits for their own use,
until the native learned that certain species civet (Luwak) consumed the coffee
fruits, Civet left the coffee seeds undigested in their droppings. The native
collected these luwak coffee seed dropping then cleaned, roasted & ground
them to make their own coffee.
The fame of aromatic civet spread from locals
to Dutch plantation owners and soon became the favorite because of its rarity
and unusual process.
Taste:
Kopi luwak is name for any beans collected from
the excrement at civet. The taste may
vary with the type and origin of the beans ingested, process, roasting, ageing
and brewing. The ability of the civet to select its cherries and other aspects
of the civet’s diet and health may also be influence the process of the taste. Using
rigorous coffee cupping for evaluation and comparing the same beans with and
without the kopi luwak process, concluded, it was apparently that luwak coffee
sold for the story not superior quality. Luwak scored two point below the
lowest to the other three coffees. It was appear that luwak processing
diminishes good quality and flavor and adds smoothness to the body.
Production/Fermentation:
Coffee cherries are eaten by the civet for
their fruits pulp after spending about a day
and a half in the civet’s digestive tract the beans are then defecated
in clumps. In the process in which the animal’s stomach acids and enzymes
digest the bean’s covering and ferment the beans. The civet endogenous
digestive secretions seep into the beans. The secretion carry proteolytic enzymes which break down the bean’s proteins,
yielding shorter peptides and more free amino acids.
The flavor of the coffee owes much to its
proteins, there is hypothesis that this
shift in the numbers and kinds of proteins in beans after being swallowed by
civets and bring form their unique flavor. The proteins are also involved in
non-enzymatic maillard browning reaction brought about later by roasting, while
inside a civet the beans begin to
germinate by malting which also lower the bitterness.
Safety:
After the thorough washing the level of harmful
organisms were insignificant and roasting at high temperature, has been cited
as making the beans safer after washing.
Price:
Indonesia: 100g - $22.97
Singapore: 100g - SGD30 to SGD50
UK: 100g - £23.00
Vietnam: 1kg - $185
Singapore: 100g - SGD30 to SGD50
UK: 100g - £23.00
Vietnam: 1kg - $185
" Its not that people are after the distinct flavor
They are after the rarity of the coffee"
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