It seems like almost everyone has seen The Bucket List. And if you haven't, you probably have your own 'bucket list' - namely, things you intend to do before you kick the proverbial bucket. If you saw the movie, you probably remember one of the most amusing scenes early on when Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, strangers, find themselves roommates in a hospital where they're both being treated for terminal conditions. Morgan, in his low-key, understated way takes Jack down a notch or three by describing the origin of Jack's pretentious coffee beans, kopi lewak.
I never dreamed we would actually meet the critter that produces these beans! Yes, we visit the coffee and tea plantation where the kopi lives . . . and eats . . . and poops! A bit of history . . .the Dutch were the first settlers/colonizers of Indonesia and the first Europeans to set foot on Bali. Somehow they managed to convince people to remove the local coffee beans from the poop of the kopi, clean them (thoroughly), and brew them into coffee . . . and, amazingly, sell it as a delicacy!! Made me wonder if that was the original meaning of 'Dutch treat'!
Kopi lewak beans in the raw and their original form.
The source (producer?) of this exotic coffee is a ferret/fox-like creature who spends most of his time sleeping, especially during the day.
The raw beans are washed first (and second and third!!) and then roasted, by hand, for upwards of two hours! I get a chance to do some roasting . . .
And finally we have a tea-tasting - 12 varieties of lovely teas all free but no kopi lewak!
That we have to pay for - at nearly $4 a cup which is really pricey. And, frankly, we'll stick with our Guatemelan beans from Costco!!
Some of the dozen tea samples and our lovely hostess.
On our way out, we actually see a coffee bush, the first time for us. . .
I never dreamed we would actually meet the critter that produces these beans! Yes, we visit the coffee and tea plantation where the kopi lives . . . and eats . . . and poops! A bit of history . . .the Dutch were the first settlers/colonizers of Indonesia and the first Europeans to set foot on Bali. Somehow they managed to convince people to remove the local coffee beans from the poop of the kopi, clean them (thoroughly), and brew them into coffee . . . and, amazingly, sell it as a delicacy!! Made me wonder if that was the original meaning of 'Dutch treat'!
Kopi lewak beans in the raw and their original form.
The source (producer?) of this exotic coffee is a ferret/fox-like creature who spends most of his time sleeping, especially during the day.
And finally we have a tea-tasting - 12 varieties of lovely teas all free but no kopi lewak!
Some of the dozen tea samples and our lovely hostess.
On our way out, we actually see a coffee bush, the first time for us. . .
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