KLang
04-25-04, 12:09 AM
An article from today's Houston paper:
Top dollar, bottom brew
Coffee lovers splurge on scarce bean
By ERIN SHERBERT
Copyright 2004 San Mateo County Times
SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Dozens of people lined up at the Bean Street Cafe on Friday, eager to shell out $10 for a cup of coffee made from beans that come from the rear end of a cat.
Only 500 pounds of these hard-to-come-by Kopi Luwak coffee beans are produced each year and sell for about $300 retail a pound in the United States.
"Absolutely better than the average coffee, and I don't mind paying for a good cup of coffee," said Jeremy Breton, a self-described coffee junkie.
Kopi Luwak beans come from Indonesia where civet cats eat the ripest coffee cherries and excrete them intact. Supposedly, the animals' stomach enzymes create the unique flavor of the coffee. The "berries" are then gathered by hand.
"It's a full body coffee that's very low in acidity," said Ken Khoury, owner of the cafe. "It's a very unique coffee."
So unique that about 20 people called days before to sign up for a Kopi Luwak cup, many of whom had never tried it before.
The Bean Street Cafe is one of the few coffee shops willing to pay for the rare beans, which have been available in the U.S. for about a year.
On Friday, the owners sold two pounds of coffee by the cup to more than 40 people.
"I just wanted to see what $300 coffee tastes like," said Dave Garcia, a telephone installer from south San Francisco. "It's definitely something different."
Ewwww....
Top dollar, bottom brew
Coffee lovers splurge on scarce bean
By ERIN SHERBERT
Copyright 2004 San Mateo County Times
SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Dozens of people lined up at the Bean Street Cafe on Friday, eager to shell out $10 for a cup of coffee made from beans that come from the rear end of a cat.
Only 500 pounds of these hard-to-come-by Kopi Luwak coffee beans are produced each year and sell for about $300 retail a pound in the United States.
"Absolutely better than the average coffee, and I don't mind paying for a good cup of coffee," said Jeremy Breton, a self-described coffee junkie.
Kopi Luwak beans come from Indonesia where civet cats eat the ripest coffee cherries and excrete them intact. Supposedly, the animals' stomach enzymes create the unique flavor of the coffee. The "berries" are then gathered by hand.
"It's a full body coffee that's very low in acidity," said Ken Khoury, owner of the cafe. "It's a very unique coffee."
So unique that about 20 people called days before to sign up for a Kopi Luwak cup, many of whom had never tried it before.
The Bean Street Cafe is one of the few coffee shops willing to pay for the rare beans, which have been available in the U.S. for about a year.
On Friday, the owners sold two pounds of coffee by the cup to more than 40 people.
"I just wanted to see what $300 coffee tastes like," said Dave Garcia, a telephone installer from south San Francisco. "It's definitely something different."
Ewwww....