Posted on 09/28/2002 12:14:33 AM PDT by Slyfox
VANCOUVER - Coffee fanatics in Vancouver and Edmonton are paying $150 per quarter-pound for the privilege of taking home coffee that came from the poo of an odd marsupial.
Kopi Luwak is made from beans picked from the feces of the luwak, a creature that lives on the plantations of Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi.
Though luwaks love to snack on coffee beans, they can only partially digest them. The digestive process turns the remnants into a treasure worth processing into a rare, expensive brew that is the Holy Grail of the coffee world.
The result is worth $600 a pound and has a chocolatey taste.
Kopi Luwak is being sold in quarter-pound bags at gourmet Urban Fare grocery stores in Edmonton and Vancouver.
Sandy McAlpine, president of the Coffee Association of Canada, says he expects those may be the only places in Canada to get the unusual brew.
"The sheer novelty of the production of it and the story behind it create a consumer fascination," Mr. McAlpine said yesterday from Toronto.
"I have told people the story [of the coffee] and had them stare blankly and say, 'Repeat that.' They're challenged by it."
Mr. McAlpine said he would like to try the coffee, but isn't prepared to use association funds for such a treat. He does dream, though. "I would definitely drink this black. It's a better way to get the full coffee experience."
That's how Nic Roggeman had it. The manager of marketing innovations for the Overwaitea Food Group, operator of Urban Fare, tried some after the company brought in six pounds, worth $3,600.
"It's a very rich-tasting coffee," he recalled. "It has a slightly burnt, caramel taste. It's a very nice cup of coffee."
The coffee has been a hit at the two gourmet stores in Alberta and British Columbia. An initial order sold out quickly. The second order is now on shelves.
At the Urban Fare store in Vancouver's chic Yaletown neighbourhood, two men bought 10 bags, paying $1,500 for their haul.
Manager Leanne Ring recalls they said they wanted to impress guests at a party they were hosting.
"It's about status," Ms. Ring said.
"People like to show status with something like this."
Kopi Luwak is clean coffee despite its weird origins, she insisted, explaining that it is properly processed and meets food standards.
Urban Fare's supplier is Raven's Brew Coffee, a specialty coffee-roasting company that has its headquarters in Ketchikan, an island in the southeast panhandle of Alaska.
The company also has an operation in the Washington state community of Kirkland, where Ravens Brew founder Michael Beech said yesterday he had tasted better coffee than Kopi Luwak.
"I think it's kind of a crappy cup of coffee," said Mr. Beech, a self-described "coffee freak."
He cautions customers that Ravens Brew sells other coffees that are "finer in the cup" at more reasonable prices.
"I make sure they understand the price is based on its rarity and its name," he said.
"But then I forgive them if they still insist on ordering it. I tell them I would do the same. It's an experience for the coffee cognoscenti.
"I can't imagine them passing up the experience."
Mr. Beech, who said his only Canadian orders have come from Urban Fare, described Kopi Luwak as musty and earthy.
"It's not a fine coffee. That's not the point. The point is to experience the world's rarest and most exotically processed coffee."
They don't have to pay for prescription drug research either.
Good. As long as it is $600/lb, there is no chance I'll accidentally be served any of it!
Ditto. It's obvious I don't get the gourmet coffee thing when I wander into Starbucks and order "a cup of coffee". "What kind?" "Uh... Columbian?"
If I find any on my shelf, it's going to go flying too.
Regards, Ivan
Considering how the coffee is processed, Mr. Beech is offering a very honest and highly accurate description of the flavor. I admire that in a vendor.
How about humans? Better quality control and variety.
That's why I don't patronize them, you just can't go in an order a cup of coffee without an interrogation.
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