Sometimes I’ll get to thinking that I know a lot about food, then something like Kopi  Luwak comes along and I realize I’m just a big rube after all.  For those of you in the know on Kopi Luwak, this is your cue to feel superior.  Personally I had no idea until last night, but here it is.  Kopi Luwak is the Indonesian coffee bean that is picked out of the, umm, feces, of the Asian Palm Civet.  I’ll stop now for a moment while you re-read that sentence.  Yes, that’s right, it’s from civet feces.

I would not have believed it myself if I had not seen it on the coffee menu at 3030, Chef Dean Maxx’s outstanding ocean front restaurant at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and Spa in Fort Lauderdale.  When you dine at interesting and innovative restaurants, you get interesting and innovative coffee.

Last night, after a fabulous dinner at 3030 - the fresh local Pompano was brilliant - our server came by with the coffee and dessert menu.  As I flipped the pages something caught my eye.  Hmmm, I wondered, why would a single cup of coffee cost more than the prix fixe lunch menu at Le Cirque?  Did it come with its own Nespresso machine perhaps?

At this point in our meal our friend Tom began to tell the story of a special type of coffee he had heard about, made from some kind of cat, well, feces.  While we were laughing uproariously at this little joke the server came by, and I had to ask.  “What makes a single cup of coffee worth $45?”   “Well” he replied, “It’s Kopi Luwak.  It’s brewed from beans recovered from Asian Palm Civet droppings.”

Ahh, but of course!

Apparently, the Asian Palm Civet, which is found in Sumatra, Java and Sulawes, loves to munch on ripe coffee beans.  And, lucky for the rest of us, the Asian Palm Civet has a little trouble actually digesting the beans, so they come out the other end somewhat still intact.  And just as ripe, no doubt.

Now here is the part where I tell you about the most disgusting food service job in the world.  After the beans have, shall we say, passed through the civet, workers go around and pick out the undigested beans from their, uh leavings.  Really.   The civet likes to mark its territory, so it seems they’re pretty easy to find.  Once the beans have been collected they are lightly roasted at a low temperature to preserve the unique flavor and smoothness.  For my part, I’d want them to raise the temperature a bit - maybe roast them at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit,  then I might consider it!

But as it turns out there are a lot of people out there willing to pay good money to drink warmed over civet droppings - oops, I mean fine Indonesian Kopi Luwak.  I probably would too, if I had not done the research - and if 3030 had not been fresh out last night.  It sure makes you wonder how bad the recession really is when 3030 is running out of $200 per pound Kopi Luwak.  Could this be a promising sign of a stock market recovery?  A leading economic indicator perhaps?  One can only hope!

There are differing schools of thought on what makes Kopi Luwak so special.  I have read that an enzyme in the Asian Palm Civet’s intestines breaks down a protein in the coffee that renders it incredibly smooth.  Then there is the school of thought that says it has nothing whatsoever to do with the civet’s digestion, but that the animal simply knows intuitively how to find the ripest coffee beans.  And as we all know, the ripest coffee beans make the freshest coffee.

So there you have it - the straight poop on Kopi Luwak.   Something new to try when you’re tired of the usual, uh, stuff.

Bon Appétit

Rob Lubin

Note- All kidding aside, the story of Kopi Luwak was absolutely fascinating to me, and it sounds delicious, once you get past its provenance.  I would be most interested in hearing from readers who have tried it and can report back on the taste.  As I mentioned, 3030 was out the last time I was there, so I did not get to check it out.  If you have experienced this unique coffee or you’d like to share your own unique coffee story or preference please, click on comments below and let me know what it’s really like.  Thanks!  RL