BEST COFFEE MADE FROM MONKEY POO; CRAPPUCCINO

Drudge Report ^ | 11/21/01 | DAILY STAR

[jrherreid]

BEST COFFEE MADE FROM MONKEY POO; CRAPPUCCINO
DAILY STAR
Wed Nov 21 2001 10:22:30 ET Coffee drinkers are going bananas over a brew that's made of MONKEY DUNG.

Brits are flooding exclusive US stockists with orders for the brew, called Kopi Luwak, made from berries that have passed through the digestive system of Indonesian monkeys. Unlucky coffee plantation staff have to search through the dung to gather the bizarre "harvest" of coffee berries, which are said to emerge virtually intact.

Experts reckon the monkey business gives the drink a unique "earthy" taste, which has made it the most expensive and sought-after coffee in the world.

It is in such short supply - just 500 lb of it is harvested a year - that it is virtually impossible to get hold of in Britain and has only limited availability in the States and Japan.

Experts say the brew first came to light hundreds of years ago, when explorers sampled it on the Indonesian isles of Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi.

The monkey - known as the Palm Toddy Cat - lives on a diet of alcoholic tree sap and coffee berries.

US-based food and drink critic Chris Rubin said:

"Whether it's because the intestinal juices give some special flavour or because it eats only perfectly ripe berries, the Toddy Cat's droppings produce what many say is the world's finest coffee."

Some exclusive US outlets sell Kopi Luwak for around a FIVER a cup.

US Coffee supplier Mark Mountanos has snapped up 110 lb of the beans.

He said: "We've had interest from all over the world because it is very hard to get hold of."

US coffee shop owner Richard Karno ordered a pound from Mark's firm - but only after he convinced him it wasn't a joke.

He said: "It's the best coffee I've ever tasted. It smells musty, but it roasts up real nice."

END

[Delbert]

In that case, make mine a Grande!!

[ArrogantBustard]

Dave Barry wrote about this ... um ... stuff ... a few years ago; I thought for sure this time he was making it up. So I looked on the WWWeb. Altavista. Advanced Search. coffee AND luwak. No, he was not making it up. I believe the critter in question (the Luwak) is a marsupial, ie more closely related to 'possums than cats, much less monkeys.

AB

[dvan]

they say it has a "s***y" taste!

[Cogadh na Sith]

Did you know that civet musk-gland squeezin's are used as an ingredient in many high-priced perfumes.

You can tell your lady: "Hey, you smell just like the ass of a civet--My little kitten..."

Civets are a very useful and underappreciated animal.

[Delbert]

reminds me of the scene in austin powers 2 where he drinks the "coffee" and says it tastes nutty.

[dighton]

How Swift would have loved it.

[jrherreid]

Come to think of it, maybe I prefer the monkey variety.

[lavaroise]

Gross. Why impose health food laws at all?

[Xenalyte]

click me . . .

or me . . .

or even me . . .

what about me?

don't forget about me!

had enough yet?

and last but not least, me

[BunnySlippers]

Actually this coffee has been around for a few years now ... and Drudge is just finding out?

[dvan]

Nothing smells as bad as cat crap!

[Crusher138]

Just think of the possibilities!

Feed coffee beans to celebrities, politicians, etc., to make special "limited editition" coffees!

Just imagine what a pound of Bill Clinton Poop Cafe would go for. I want the concession at the Democratic National Convention!

[scalia_#1]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd like to get ahold of some of that alcoholic tree sap.

No kidding! This thing lives off alcohol and coffee? That sounds familiar!

[jrherreid]

I wonder what he would have called our land. Let's revise Gulliver a bit and add this in.

[tberry]

"Bowel Roasted Coffee" collected by Juan Valdez who was really a monkey in disguise. .

[BlueHorseShoe]

Hey, this could be a new job opportunity. I could down a six-pack, pop a few berries and...ah...drop them out for a good price. (Gosh, that was gross...made me sound like a guy, did't it...;^)

[Skywalk]

that's a good one, one that'll result in me not getting any, I'm sure!

I stand by my love of apes as a comic device.

"Lisa:Why don't you use your power and influence to help people?

Homer:Well, I could get a bunch of monkeys and have 'em re-enact the Battle of Gettysburg!

Lisa:How's that going to help anyone?!

Homer:Well, it couldn't hurt...unless the monkeys started hurting people...which they almost certainly would.

[Non-Sequitur]

I cannot imagine what possessed the first person who, while walking through the jungle, saw some animal sh*t and then decided to dig out the coffee beans, roast them, and then brew them. What ever were they thinking?

[SpaceBar]

I've sampled palm toddy in Burma (Myanmar). It is harvested in clay pots by people who shinny up the palm trees, slice a frond, and let the white sap drip into the pot. It ferments naturally and looks sort of like foamy egg white. Also, it is not the most sanitary process and in my particular case resulted in a severe case of diahrea and cramps. My advice is to stick with beer.

[duckbutt]

Talk about a mountain of the "richest kind".....