World’s tastiest and most expensive, palm civet coffee, obtained from the droppings of the palm civet, has recently been produced for purely local consumption at civet farms throughout the central highland province of Daklak, Vietnam.
The palm civet is a mammal-sized omnivorous nocturnal raccoon-like animal. It has a sweet tooth for sweet red coffee cherries containing the coffee bean. The beans are digested whole after fermenting in the stomach hence acquiring the signature taste of palm civet coffee.
A large civet, which can weight up to 6 kg, can eat up to 3 kg of coffee cherries and begin eliminating them one hour later.
To make civet coffee, the coffee grains are extracted from the droppings of farm-raised palm civets and sun-dried. This procedure ensures the coffee grains their notorious fragrance.
Many people in Daklak raise palm civets to produce civet coffee as a personal hobby with the hope it will one day regain its former gourmet status.
Nguyen Quoc Khanh in Krong Buk commune, Krong Bach district is raising over 100 civets while Hoang Manh Cuong in the central highland city of Buon Me Thuot is raising 40.
“Our civet coffee is yet to be a commodity. Sometimes, we dry the beans for gifts,” said the owners of civet coffee farms Khanh and Cuong.
“Our civet farms are licensed by the city’s authorities and caged palm civets are successfully bred,” said Cuong.
In 2007, Cuong had his civet coffee analyzed by a laboratory at Hanoi Polytechnic University. Results showed a higher glucose content than in normal coffee (61.43 percent instead of 54.55 percent), hence sweeter.
He also indicated that around 600 kg of palm civet coffee cherries are currently stored in their storehouse while the current world supply of civet coffee is just 200 kilos/year. So, the coffee is a rarity and the most expensive in the market, according to Highland Coffee’s website.
It is rumored that thanks to its popularity palm civet coffee can be sold for as much as tens of million of Vietnam dongs per kilogram (VND10 million equals roughly US$500) while a freshly brewed cup of civet coffee can sell for around $9 to $11.
No comments:
Post a Comment