A taste of Civet Coffee aka Kopi Luwak!

It was such a bright and sunny Saturday to begin with in Bali. The car took us from Kuta until Ubud for the meeting point to begin our Downhill Cycling Trip.  Less than an hour later we passed over Ubud. Ubud has been a remarkable town in the middle of the island of Bali. For more than a century, it has been the island's preeminent centre for fine arts, dance and music. While it once was a haven for scruffy backpackers, cosmic seekers, artists and bohemians, Ubud is now a hot spot for literati, glitterati, art collectors and connoisseurs. Famous names walk its busy sidewalks everyday. Antonio Blanco Museum is one of the art spot in Ubud. Elegant five star hotels and sprawling mansions now stand on its outskirts, overlooking the most prized views in Bali. Nonetheless, Ubud is still popular with backpackers, mystics and all the finest fringe elements of global society. Ubud is not "ruined". Its character is too strong to be destroyed. It still draws people who add something; people who are actively involved in art, nature, anthropology, music, dance, architecture, environmentalism, "alternative modalities," and more.

Few minutes later we arrived at Waka di Uma Villas as our meeting point with our Cycling Tour Guide. After brief introduction with Pak Wayan, the Guide, we drove up to Kintamani where the bicycles are waiting for us. On the way to Kintamani we had a nice agro tour at an Agro tourism farm as a part of the Cycling program. The road has quite a number of Agro tourism farms. One of them is Santi Agrowisata.   

The breeze air and sunshine was so fresh to begin the Agro Tour. Plenty of visitors have a deep interest in chocolate, coffee, and spices. Surprisingly, the farms are open for free to the public. I was figured out with no entrance fee and rightly so, that the visitor will need to buy some of their products directly from the farm. 

 The plants at Santi Agrowisata are intercropped. As we walked the shady paths, we found coffee plants next to vanilla beans around the corner from cocoa plants, with ginger and lemon grass growing along the edges.  It was the first time for me to see a Vanilla tree, which amazed me. Had a quick picture shoot then I take some moments to feel and smell the spices! 

In the middle of the farm, we saw a Civet Cat’s cage which l just knew that the cat produces Luwak coffee or Civet Coffee. Luwak is a very special coffee, produced in association with civet cats. These nocturnal animals forage through areas planted with coffee trees, eating the beans. The beans pass through the animal’s digestive track undigested, and are excreted in their feces.  In the morning, farmers search for the civet’s scat when they separated the beans from the fecal matter, washed, roasted, ground and brewed into coffee. 

 Luwak coffee is supposedly some of the most delicate and delicious coffee in the world. The trip through the digestive track of the civet cat is said to remove any trace of bitterness from the coffee. I didn’t try Luwak coffee. I meant to, really I did. But every time I think about the process how they were eaten by the cats, I don’t brave enough to do so.

Coffee, like tobacco and wine, has an old history with special charisma, not only because it always involves many people in its processing and creates job opportunities, but also because of its many flavors. Coffee has become a ritual for a great many people across the world. The tastes of coffee depend on where it is planted and how it is processed and prepared. Therefore, prior to serving, coffee has to go through lengthy processing and special recipes help generate excellent flavors. We then saw the coffee production spot which next to the shops selling the farm products

In areas of Java and Bali where civet cats roam, the Kopi Luwak is made in villages from these Arabica coffee beans.  The raw and cleaned beans are placed in a large stone mortar (lesung), pounded with a large wooden pole to loosen beans from their covering shells and then winnowed by hand in a flat basket like tray to separate the beans. Beans are then carefully hand-picked to remove any that are damaged, roasted in special local ovens and ground as required.

At the end of our walk through the plantation, we had a nice rest over the seats that look like a café overlooking the green hills. We then even sampled some of the most delicious coffee and tea I have tasted, all of which is (of course) for sale in the gift shop. But the real deal here is the 100% organic Balinese dark chocolate. We were served 5 mini glasses of Balinese dark coffee, Hot chocolate, Ginger tea, Lemon tea and Ginseng tea. Trusts me… it tastes nothing like anything that ever came out of Hershey. I sheepishly admit to not sharing with my colleagues as I was curious to experiences them all.  I also got a chance to sample local fruits such as Tree-tomato and Balinese Snake skin fruit, all of which were absolutely delicious and rich for the vitamin C. 

But the joyful need to be ended since we rush for our cycling down the hill!