While travelling in Indonesia I was lucky enough to be able to sample the world's rarest coffee!! Here's my report on it.
So where does the world's rarest coffee come from? Well as a traveller you quickly learn that everywhere advertises and promotes themselves as "the world's best", "the world's highest", "the world's cheapest" etc. so to be honest I normally take no notice of such things. Singapore is a city renowned for exaggerating stuff and quite frankly on my few trips there it has made me cringe the amount of things they claim to be the world's best or the world's first.
So earlier this year I was on a tour round North Bali in Indonesia with my Brazilian friend Rodrigo and we came across a coffee plantation in amongst the many rice fields of Bali. After a quick visit to the actual plantation, we were shown a bizarre creature living in a cage. This creature in the Luwak Fox! (The what? - it seemed to me to be a strange mix between a wolf, cat, dog and fox). Why am I telling you this? Because the Luwak Fox is a rare breed and it relies on red coffee beans to survive.
Right where do I start? The Luwak Fox eats coffee beans and they then come out of its ass. They use these digested and excreted beans to make the special Luwak Coffee. Really? Yes its the excretion of a Luwak Fox!! I couldn't quite believe it but it had to be tried!!
The coffee costs a lot of money as it's so rare so we decided on the alcoholic version to get a bit of money's worth from it!
The Luwak coffee can be tried all over Bali and Indonesia, and of course is also exported. We went to a cafe called Kubu Kopi but there are a few around. Your driver will more than likely take you to a coffee plantation if you do a day tour of northern Bali. It's not touristy to try the Luwak coffee - so if you want to try it - make sure he takes you there. It'sin Munduk, so another option is to stay in Munduk itself.
A menu arrives complete with a picture of the Luwak Fox in behind, just to tempt you even more. The special Luwak Coffee costs 85,000 Indonesian Rupiah (which today is about $8.2 US Dollars) so actually not as bad as you'd think considering it's the world's rarest. So after all that fuss, was the world's rarest coffee any good? Yes! We both loved the Luwak Coffee and would recommend it, plus it comes in an exquisite wooden cup and saucer and you can sip away with an amazing view into the fields of Bali. With not a care in the world...
Right, I'm off to get myself a coffee (a 'normal' granulated one). Don't Stop Living!
Where can you get the world's rarest coffee? - In Munduk, Bali, INDONESIA (plus its exported)
What is the world's rarest coffee? - Luwak Coffee
How much is it? - About 8 US Dollars a cup
What's it made of - to be blunt it's the poo poo from the Luwak Fox (which has eaten red coffee beans!)
Is it worth it? - Come on now, you only live once. And believe me I've wasted 8 US Dollars on plenty of worse things in my time...
So where does the world's rarest coffee come from? Well as a traveller you quickly learn that everywhere advertises and promotes themselves as "the world's best", "the world's highest", "the world's cheapest" etc. so to be honest I normally take no notice of such things. Singapore is a city renowned for exaggerating stuff and quite frankly on my few trips there it has made me cringe the amount of things they claim to be the world's best or the world's first.
So earlier this year I was on a tour round North Bali in Indonesia with my Brazilian friend Rodrigo and we came across a coffee plantation in amongst the many rice fields of Bali. After a quick visit to the actual plantation, we were shown a bizarre creature living in a cage. This creature in the Luwak Fox! (The what? - it seemed to me to be a strange mix between a wolf, cat, dog and fox). Why am I telling you this? Because the Luwak Fox is a rare breed and it relies on red coffee beans to survive.
Right where do I start? The Luwak Fox eats coffee beans and they then come out of its ass. They use these digested and excreted beans to make the special Luwak Coffee. Really? Yes its the excretion of a Luwak Fox!! I couldn't quite believe it but it had to be tried!!
The coffee costs a lot of money as it's so rare so we decided on the alcoholic version to get a bit of money's worth from it!
The Luwak coffee can be tried all over Bali and Indonesia, and of course is also exported. We went to a cafe called Kubu Kopi but there are a few around. Your driver will more than likely take you to a coffee plantation if you do a day tour of northern Bali. It's not touristy to try the Luwak coffee - so if you want to try it - make sure he takes you there. It'sin Munduk, so another option is to stay in Munduk itself.
A menu arrives complete with a picture of the Luwak Fox in behind, just to tempt you even more. The special Luwak Coffee costs 85,000 Indonesian Rupiah (which today is about $8.2 US Dollars) so actually not as bad as you'd think considering it's the world's rarest. So after all that fuss, was the world's rarest coffee any good? Yes! We both loved the Luwak Coffee and would recommend it, plus it comes in an exquisite wooden cup and saucer and you can sip away with an amazing view into the fields of Bali. With not a care in the world...
Right, I'm off to get myself a coffee (a 'normal' granulated one). Don't Stop Living!
Where can you get the world's rarest coffee? - In Munduk, Bali, INDONESIA (plus its exported)
What is the world's rarest coffee? - Luwak Coffee
How much is it? - About 8 US Dollars a cup
What's it made of - to be blunt it's the poo poo from the Luwak Fox (which has eaten red coffee beans!)
Is it worth it? - Come on now, you only live once. And believe me I've wasted 8 US Dollars on plenty of worse things in my time...
About the Author:
To read more incredible articles like the world's rarest coffee head to Jonny Blair's recommended travel, work and lifestyle website Dont Stop Living for more interesting stories and tips!. Unique version for reprint here: A Rare Coffee For You To Try!!.