WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE COFFEE
Would you drink coffee produced from coffee beans that have passed through the digestive system of a civet cat?
It doesn’t sound too appealing, but that’s exactly how Civet coffee, also known as Luwak coffee, is produced—by processing the feces of the cat. It’s the world’s most expensive coffee and is now being produced on a small scale in India, according to a PTI report.
A start-up firm called Coorg Consolidated Commodities (CCC) has started making the coffee in Karnataka, hoping to sell it through a local café as well as to wealthy consumers in Gulf nations and Europe, where it sells for as much as Rs 20,000-25,000 per kilogram.
Narendra Hebbar, one of CCC’s founders, told PTI that the company will collect civet poop from plantations nearby, where the cats eat the ripest coffee bean cherries.
“Civet cat eats the flesh of the coffee cherries and not the bean,” Hebbar said. “Natural enzymes in civet’s stomach enhance the bean flavor, and that’s why this coffee is unique.”
It’s certainly unique, but for many people, that may translate to uniquely unappealing.
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
[Comments? Contributions? We would love to hear from you about Chai Time. If you have contributions, please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]
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