Weasel-Poop Coffee

Colonization is ugly. Assumptions of cultural superiority, religious indoctrination and arbitrary borders lines has left so many black mark on the developing world. Imperialism aside, there can be some cultural assimilation that creates intrigue. Vietnam is no exception here as France’s attempt to indoctrinate locals while wrestling away resources did leave a legacy of fine coffee and baked bread. Banh mi, a lengthwise sliced baguette sandwich, is an example of the French presence. And in my opinion Vietnam produces the best cup of coffee in all of Southeast Asia. On that note, somewhere along the way someone in this part of the world figured out that coffee can not only bettered through roasting but can be further flavored from beans that civet/weasels consume and passed through their digestive tract. How anyone figured this out escapes me. But Weasel-Poop coffee? I gave it a try.

Weasels and Beans

This “civet’ coffee is quite expensive and originally gathered in the wild. A true cup of “Kopi Luwak” civet/weasel coffee can cost from $30 – $100 USD in parts of Asia. Given these prices it is easy to see how local entrepreneurs will capture and cage weasels, feed them coffee and then muster a profit from the excretions. Farmed civets obviously reduce the price and we only spent 200,000 dong, @ $9.00 USD for one cup. Expensive, yes, but the discovery of mistreated animals did give me pause.

No apparent difference

The coffee was smooth and still a bit bitter as coffee typically is. Unless we were duped and slipped a regular cup of joe while the barista pocketed the money, I could not discern from many other brews. I did have great anticipation as the thought of pricey weasel-scat coffee piqued my imagination as to just how it could be different. Expected too much, perhaps.

A digestive remnant for spendy-brew coffee

In doing some online research for this post I came across some sites indicating animal abuse in the making of this coffee. This discovery showing possible mistreatment suggests greater awareness is needed and a second thoughts on ordering this ever again.

Kopi Luwak civet coffee: The real cost