The Drink: Kopi Luwak from Rocket Fuel Coffee
Type: Whole Bean
Overall Rating: 5 out 5 coffee cups
There’s one coffee that costs up to $600 a pound and only a thousand or so pounds of it are made a year. It’s called Kopi Luwak and thanks to Jason over at Coffee Cup News and Rocket Fuel Coffee, I’m enjoying some tonight.
Kopi Luwak is one of the rarest and some consider it to be the strangest coffee in the world. It’s more expensive than most bottles of wine or champagne, but some people think that it’s just too weird to drink.
Kopi Luwak most commonly comes from the Sumatra island in Indonesia, an area known for their high quality coffee. Also on this island, there’s an animal called the civet. People describe it as looking like a cat or a weasel, but it’s not part of either family.
The locals call the animal Luwaks and their favorite food is the coffee cherry. They eat the cherry whole, including the bean. In their stomach, it goes through a chemical treatment and ferments. Then it exits the digestive system as intact beans. The beans are gathered from the forest floor, cleaned and roasted.
In the way it’s made and with the taste, it’s unlike any other coffee. It’s described as having a rich, heavy taste with a caramel and chocolate flavor.
Many people believe that it’s just an urban myth, but it’s very real and enjoyed all over the world. It was even featured in The Bucket List, a movie featuring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.
In case you were curious, there’s no public record of it causing any illness or sickness. The beans are washed, dried in the sun and roasted at high temperature, which most likely kills any bacteria or harmful contaminants.
The Review:
In so many ways, this was unlike any other coffee that I’ve tasted. I’ve had a lot of amazing coffees over the past few months, but this one really is on a whole different level. It’s worth the $55 price tag for a quarter pound.
Check out their description:
The beans are washed, and given only a light roast so as to not destroy the complex flavors that develop through the process. Light roasting is considered particularly desirable in coffees that do not exhibit bitterness, and the most pronounced characteristic of Kopi Luwak is a marked reduction in bitterness. Kopi Luwak cups with a rich, heavy flavor with hints of caramel or chocolate. Other terms used to describe it are earthy, musty and exotic. The body is almost syrupy and it’s very smooth. Incredible.
The aroma of this Kopi Luwak is the most intense of any that I’ve ever experienced. It literally smelled thick, in a beautiful and non-overwhelming way.
There was a slight chocolate and caramel smell, but they came through more in the actual taste. It’s in no way like a flavored coffee, just hints of it, adding to the overall complex flavor.
It’s a smooth, thick tasting coffee. Initially, it just tasted like a lot of other good coffees I’ve had and I was a little disappointed. Then after about a second or two, the taste kicked into overdrive and it became clear that this wasn’t like any other coffee I’ve had.
There was a complex taste, almost like there was two levels of coffee in my mouth battling.
It has a really interesting lingering taste, it stuck on my tongue and it didn’t want to let go. It had a smoky, earthy taste unlike any that I’ve ever tried before.
The price is high, but it’s like a fine wine, almost like an investment.
Overall, I gave it a 5 out of 5 coffee cup rating. It’s my first perfect score that I’ve given. There really wasn’t any question about it, the initial kick and the lingering after taste were really amazing.
Maybe, it’s not for everyone, but if you have a sense of adventure and come across some Kopi Luwak, it’s worth trying at least once.
Check it out at Rocket Fuel Coffee before it’s sold out.
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Coffee Reviews,
Kopi Luwak,
Rocket Fuel Coffee