Most exquisite coffee in the world

In case you’ve seen the Bucket List, there is no point reading further. You will only struggle with my broken English-laaa. Singaporeans would, however, never admit they speak Singlish. O’ cos we spikinglish-laaa.

For the first time in my life, I saw coffee beans growing on a tree, about the size of a 5 year-old child.

For the first time in my life, I saw white, cleaned and unroasted beans, ready to be put onto a pan above the fire.

The best coffee I've ever drank comes from a small show-case plantation somewhere in Bali. Somewhere between Ubud, Kuta, and Sanur. The location is not important. What’s important, we could see and smell (too expensive to taste, though) the most exquisite coffee in the world, Kopi Luwak. In small cages, sleeping their daily sleep, we saw weasel-like beasts that so enormously contribute to Indonesia’s GDP.

In case you haven’t seen the Bucket List, please do read forward. The story may not be 100% true. It is how I imagine it.

Somewhere on the island of Sumatra lives a very curious gourmet animal, the Luwak, member of the civet cat family. Aboriginal population saw the animal carefully pick and eat wild berries. What a strange effect the berries had on the Luwak! It would jump and run, as if energized by an extraterrestrial power. A few hours later, the Luwak returned what it had eaten back to the Mother Nature, the half-digested berries acquired a very peculiar aroma.


Indians, very experimental in nature, retrieved these berries, roasted and boiled them in a pot above the fire. The potion they thus procured, had dark brownish colour and made them invincible. No other tribe ever conquered them again. No more were they surprised by an attack during the night. And so the tribe worshipped the wisdom of a modest, shy animal. They build a big Luwak statue and prayed to it every day.

For the lack of personal experience with Kopi Luwak's taste, let me quote David Emery from the About.com Guide:

"As you have no doubt surmised, the unique taste and aroma of these coffees are routinely attributed to the fact that the beans have been chemically modified by the acids and enzymes in the animal's digestive tract before they're excreted and harvested. Less frequently observed but more to the point, in my opinion, is a characteristic of all members of the civet family which surely influences the fragrance of the beans: "anal scent glands that secrete a fluid with a musky odor" (American Heritage Dictionary).

I'll take mine with cream, sugar, and a gas mask, please."