Luxury brew made from beans in civet droppings
I like a good bean. I like smelling coffee beans, grinding them, pouring water through the grounds, drinking what results. Sometimes I splurge and get expensive, fair trade, organic blends. I like to think I have a pretty decent nose for the stuff. I can tell the difference between a cheap, sour cup and a rich, smoky one. But I'm not sure I'd like the most expensive cup in the world--the kind brewed from beans pooped out by animals.
Yep, true story. Kopi Luwak, the world's priciest coffee, is made from the beans of the coffee fruits eaten by Asian Palm Civets. The Asian Palm Civet of Indonesia looks a bit like a spotted cross between a cat and a monkey. It likes the coffee fruit, but can't digest the coffee bean, so it poops it out whole. Somewhere in Indonesia, someone has the job of collecting Asian Palm Civet poop and removing the undigested beans from it. That person does not get paid nearly enough for the work that they do.
Apparently, Kopi Luwak, the coffee brewed from those poop beans, has a much smoother and less bitter flavor than normal coffee. It still tastes like coffee, but doesn't scrape at your mouth quite so much. It's not just a cost placebo, either. There's actual science in there. The enzymes in the animal's digestive tract break down proteins in coffee beans. Therefore, the actual chemical makeup of the beans changes, resulting in the difference in flavor. I'm not sure if the enzymes are unique to the Asian Palm Civet or if any mammal will do. I'm not really willing to find out for myself, though.
Like many a luxury food item, Kopi Luwak originated as a poor man's substitute for the real thing. When the Dutch colonized Indonesia, they set the locals to work growing and harvesting coffee to bring back to the homeland. In order to maximize output, workers were banned from drinking any of the coffee made from beans they worked to grow themselves. Because the Indonesian population still wanted to get their caffeine buzz on, they started roasting the beans in civet droppings--because they were the only ones they could get without stealing from the main source. Once Kopi Luwak became a thing, the Dutch eventually tried it--and realized it tasted way better than the stuff they were sending home. They started selling it, and ultimately it became a luxury item. You can get it in the states for about $420 a pound or $10 a cup. Gross factor aside, the price is probably enough of a turn-off for most people to avoid it.