Most tourists plan a vacation in Vietnam in advance, starting long to collect the necessary information about the country from various sources. Very often, future travelers are faced with the assertion that the most delicious coffee is grown and prepared in Vietnam. How true is this information and what does Vietnamese coffee taste like?

Vietnamese coffee Luwak: unusual production

   That animal that "processes" the coffee inside.

Luwak coffee in Vietnam is a kind of "highlight" of the country. This coffee is one of the most expensive and unique in the world. And the point here is not at all in the plant variety itself. The secret lies in the unusual production technology.

In Vietnam, small animals live, with several names: someone calls them musangs, someone calls them civet, and someone calls them palm martens. Their size is small - about the same as that of an ordinary cat, and the colors of the animals resemble gray foxes.

These wonderful creatures of nature feed on berries ripening on coffee trees. After digesting the food, civet removes the litter out naturally, leaving undigested coffee beans in it. Specially selected employees who collect such litter roam the territory where musanga live, with containers filling them with grains for the future aromatic drink.

Luwak coffee in Vietnam animals  do not digest completely - in the stomach, only the upper shell of coffee beans disintegrates. The core itself only changes the chemical composition, after which the drink becomes softer, with a pleasant chocolate aftertaste. Due to the fact that grains undergo a kind of “processing” in the stomachs of animals, the drink costs a lot of money, and not every tourist decides to try it.

Cost of Luwak coffee in Vietnam

  A musang animal that has coffee beans.

These animals are exclusively involved in the manufacture of the Vietnamese drink Luwak, named after the furry animal - palm civet. Scientists have conducted many experiments involving other animals, but coffee beans collected from their litter did not have such an unusual taste. Multiple laboratory procedures were also performed, as a result of which coffee beans were subjected to special processing. However, such a taste as after digestion with civet was not obtained.

All this greatly affects the cost of the finished drink. According to statistics, the cost of 100 g of Luwak coffee in online stores is about 3000-5000 rubles. In Vietnam itself, you can buy it almost everywhere.

  Ready coffee, after musanga is collected by nursery workers.

Of course, the local population often profits from tourists who dream of tasting this exotic drink, and offers them to buy coffee at a fabulous price. Currently, 1 kg of such elite coffee costs about $ 1,000.

Coffee from Vietnam Luwak is the most expensive one that is collected in the wild. It has its own nuances of searching and collecting grains. Due to the difficulty of collecting litter in recent years, the population of Vietnam began to build special farms where palm martens are bred and fed with coffee beans. This does not affect the taste of coffee, because the animals still eat exclusively ripe coffee berries.

How to make Luwak coffee?

The technology for making Luwak coffee differs from the usual way of brewing. In order to make the drink the most aromatic and delicious, you need to take only freshly ground coffee.

1. In Vietnam, coffee is never made in Turks or coffee pots.
2. Coffee is poured into a special filter.
3. Pour boiling water.
4. Then they substitute the cup and wait for the drink to slowly collect in it, dripping one drop at a time.

How to make coffee in Vietnam in restaurants or cafes? Using the same special filters. If a client orders coffee in a restaurant, they will be served a cup with a filter, from which a long-awaited drink drips. Often, a cup filled with green tea with ice is placed next to it, and a thermos with boiling water is also brought. At the request of the client, he may be served a vase of sugar, a glass of ice.

If a visitor orders a full set, then his entire table will be covered with utensils. And all this only in order to enjoy the aromatic coffee Luwak. Boiling water is needed so that they can make coffee. Drinking it in its pure form is difficult. After diluting with boiling water in coffee, you can add sugar to taste, and then slowly, enjoying every drop of this precious drink, use it.


  How much does Luwak coffee cost in Vietnam today? The price for a cup is not the highest, compared with the USA, Japan and European countries. For a cup of drink here you can give about $ 90. It is the high cost of the product that creates even more interest in it.

And more and more tourists who come to Vietnam on holiday buy coffee from the feces of animals from Vietnam with them to their homeland and try to make it on their own.

Starting your morning with a cup of aromatic and invigorating drink, have you ever wondered how the most expensive coffee grows and is made? It is enough to go to any supermarket to see a huge assortment of this product. But in a simple store, it is problematic to purchase truly elite varieties. To do this, you need to visit specialized departments or contact the supplier company directly.

If you want to try the most expensive coffee and decide to start searching for this drink, you will need to know the ten elite varieties included in the top ten, and their features.

In the first place is a special variety called “Kopi Luwak”. The supplier of this coffee is Indonesia. Huge plantations are located on Java and Sumatra. The main difference between this variety and all others is a rather exotic way of its production.

The most expensive coffee in the world is the excrement of a small animal civet. Colonies of these animals live close to plantations and eat ripe berries. In the stomach of the animals all parts of the berry are processed, except for the solid coffee bean, which comes out naturally. Excrement is collected, washed thoroughly with water, dried and lightly fried.

An honorable third place is occupied by a drink made from beans of the "St. Helena Coffee" variety. Its cost is 79 dollars per pound. Coffee plantations are located on St. Helena. This variety gained great popularity due to historical events that are associated with the link of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The fourth place in the list “The most expensive coffee” is rightfully occupied by the El Injerto variety. Its homeland is the Huétenango region in Guatemala. This drink is one of the most beloved drinks in the world. In fifth place is a brand called “Fazenda Santa Ines”, whose homeland is a place called Minas Gerais in Brazil. This variety won first place in the Quality Cup competitions held in Brazil in 2006. Any of these two varieties can be bought for just $ 50 per pound.

In sixth place is the most beloved coffee in Japan called “Blue Mountain”. It is grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. The coffee beans collected on these plantations have a low bitterness and a special mild flavor. It is for these qualities that the Japanese love him so much. Up to 80 percent of the total crop of this variety is exported to the islands of the Rising Sun. One pound of Blue Mountain will cost $ 49.

Seventh place in the rating list was given to the drink under the brand name Los Plains Coffee. Grains that have received such a poetic name grow on the sunny plantations of El Salvador. This variety took an honorable second place in the competition "Quality Cup", held in Brazil in 2006. Out of a hundred possible points, this coffee received 93.52 points according to the jury. One pound of grains of this variety costs $ 40.

Next on the list of “Most Expensive Coffee” is a variety called “Hawaiian Kona Coffee”. His homeland is the Big Island in Hawaii. Famous plantations are located in the northern and southern region on the slopes of the Mauna Loa and Hualalai mountains. This variety is considered the most popular in the world and costs $ 34 per pound.

The ninth place is rightfully occupied by a variety called Starbucks Rwanda Blue Bourbon. This was discovered by Starbucks in 2004 while visiting a place called Rwanda. From that moment on, farmers living in the area are only involved in the cultivation of this type of coffee bean. The cost of Starbucks Rwanda Blue Bourbon is $ 24 per pound.

The last place in the top ten, but which has not become less prestigious, is occupied by a variety called “Coffee Yauco Selecto AA”. Its homeland are plantations located in the southwestern region of the Puerto Rico mountain range, in a place called Yauco. A distinctive feature of this variety is a moderate aroma and excellent rich taste. The cost of coffee beans of this brand will cost you $ 24 per pound.

Vietnam is the second largest coffee producer in the world, accounting for 18%. But coffee from feces of animals from Vietnam is most famous.

He leads a nocturnal lifestyle, sleeps during the day, choosing secluded places, for example, hollow trees. By the way, he climbs trees very well. There are 30 subspecies of this musang.

Palm marten is omnivorous; coffee is not its main food. In the diet, the animal and various other fruits, as well as insects, worms, bird eggs and even small animals.

Enzymes, thanks to which coffee grains processed in the animal’s stomach acquire a peculiar taste, are produced only six months a year.

Coffee Luwak

This type of coffee is named in Indonesia, where it is also produced. In Vietnam, it is called "jung." Coffee from feces of animals from Vietnam has become the hallmark of the country.

The fact that it was here that the business was put on stream did not reduce the price of the product, but increased the production of expensive grains due to the following:

• Special farms where musangs were kept were created.
• The animals are specially caught precisely at the time when they produce the necessary enzymes.
• In the corresponding period, the palm marten is fed exclusively with the fruits of the coffee tree.

After the period of production of the enzyme passes, the animals are released. At this time, excursions are organized for tourists who are in the country, on the plantation. And they can see the whole process of producing unique coffee.

The cost of a product consists of several factors:

1. Farmers manually collect the excrement produced by the musanga after they absorb coffee fruits.
2. After collecting, you need to properly process and dry everything, and this is also done manually.
3. The possibility of obtaining grains in a limited period of the year also increases the price of the product.

On average, lewak in Europe costs $ 150 per 100 grams. Often this variety is mixed with other grains of coffee, which gives the drink an even more intense aroma and taste.

If you haven’t seen it, be sure to watch an excellent American film starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman titled “Until I Played in the Box”. One of the heroes of the tape, a millionaire and a big snob, was very fond of periodically drinking gourmet Luwak coffee - the most expensive coffee in the world.

Good day, friends.

Well, wealthy people can afford it. The second main character found information about how this drink is prepared and informed a friend. Everything that was in the proposed description is completely true ...

In general, we will not retell and delve into the plot. Let us focus on what it is all the same for Luwak coffee such and how it turns out. Read, we hope it will be interesting!

The homeland of any coffee is generally considered the Indonesian island of Java. A long time ago, arabica, and Liberica, and Robusta were grown in Java, and everywhere. However, at the end of the 19th century, a rust mushroom struck all Javanese coffee plantations in the lowlands, and only those plantations that were more than one kilometer above sea level survived.

Robusta turned out to be the most unpretentious type of coffee, so it accounts for 90 percent of the total product grown in Indonesia. As for the Luwak coffee, it is not entirely of plant origin! ..

The most expensive coffee in the world: how do coffee Luwak?

The process of the appearance of Luwak coffee is quite unusual. No, at first everything happens according to the standard scheme: there are coffee trees, beans grow on them - as in all other cases. Then the ripest of these beans is eaten by a creature wearing several items: palm civet or marten, wyverra, punch cat.

On the island of Java, it is called Musang or Luwak. This is a living "coffee machine". The eaten food is processed in the animal's body, but the coffee beans are not digested, but go outside with feces. These “shabby” grains are the raw materials for a product known as Luwak coffee - the most expensive coffee in the world.

You are disappointed?

However, gourmets are advised not to attach importance to this. After all, in the end, it is not excrement that is brewed (and, thank God!), But coffee beans - thoroughly washed by the maintenance staff, dried, roasted on the fire and packed.

This is what the “source" of Luwak coffee looks like

So, the animal involved in the production of coffee Luwak has a body almost a meter long and a tail almost the same length. Moreover, this person has a stable tendency to libations. We are talking about the consumption of low-alcohol punch by the palm marten - mash of palm juice, which is snacked on by various berries, including coffee.

The Luwak Musanga lead a bohemian lifestyle: during the day they sleep off from the works of the righteous in the caves, and at night they go to the "production". They will drink punch, snack with ripe, extremely ripe and very aromatic beans.

So, the initial stage of making coffee from the animal of Luwak is being built in search of the best berries and eating them.

Luwak coffee: how to make it

At the second stage, when the mashangs digest the pulses of the beans, the grains remain intact and unharmed, and they are safely excreted during bowel movements. By the way, the composition of the gastric juice of punch cats includes a special substance - cebitin, which breaks down the proteins of coffee beans.

This gives the Luwak coffee an exclusive taste with barely noticeable bitterness and various shades: from the taste of butter to the taste of honey. Experts note that after consuming the drink, a surprisingly pleasant aftertaste remains in the mouth. The saturation of taste is enhanced by a specific method of roasting grains on a low fire.

In addition to collecting feces of animals left in the wild, there is another opportunity to get raw materials for Luwak coffee, production is established on farms. Here musangs are kept in captivity, and they feed only on the beans that the farmer offers them, and not on those that they usually pay attention to while in the wild. Add to everything else stress, a sedentary lifestyle and a bunch of diseases that arise in connection with this ...

Meet: Musang is a lively and walking coffee factory.

Gourmets note that the drink obtained artificially is inferior in quality and taste to that obtained in the old way. Now you know how to make Luwak coffee.

Luwak coffee

When the public becomes aware that coffee from the animal of the Luwak animal is made from beans extracted from feces, the question involuntarily begs the question: who, interestingly, guessed to pick them out from the poop?

It turns out that during the colonization of Indonesia by Holland, Europeans forbade the local population to collect coffee beans from trees. For disobedience was followed by severe punishment. So the natives were forced to use poop civet for the preparation of an invigorating liquid.

Beasts making coffee Luwak consume an average of about one kilogram of berries per day. At the output of each individual, approximately 50 grams of grains are obtained. Few? Of course. This is by the way about why Luwak coffee is insanely expensive.

At the farm, the gluttony of musanga is carefully watched. They are fed fruit and rice porridge with chicken. The coffee bean films spit out by the animals are removed from the tray so that they eat more berries.

Unfortunately, the Luwaki musanga in captivity do not breed, and therefore, to capture the number of livestock, wild animals are caught.

Coffee Luwak: where is it produced?

Traditionally, coffee from Luwak excrement comes to the market from Indonesia (from the islands of Java, Sumatra, Bali), as well as from the Philippines. Many of our tourists would like to go on excursions to farms where they contain punch cats, and it is there to drink a cup of drink. The goods are also sold in supermarkets, but much more expensive.

By the way, this is not all the countries where Luwak coffee is produced. Its release was also organized in Vietnam and India.

Luwak coffee production in Vietnam

In addition, reports appeared that manufacturers learned how to imitate the aroma of cibetin, i.e. artificially achieve an elegant taste of the drink, optimism is not added.

How to brew coffee Luwak

First, we will describe how the Vietnamese cope with the brewing of this type of coffee, whose product received high marks from tourists.

Vietnamese coffee Luwak is prepared in a mug. Its bottom is abundantly poured with condensed milk, then ground coffee powder is poured through the filter. The whole consistency is pressed by the press, and again, boiling water is poured through the filter (to slow down the process).

At home, it is best to make coffee from a Luwak animal in a Turk. Some coffee lovers are sure that the drink must be consumed in its pure form, in other words, without any additives and sugar.

Others, by contrast, do not imagine coffee unsweetened. Moreover, according to individual recipes, sugar should be added during cooking. As a result, the taste of the drink turns out to be bright, in addition, the noble coffee foam remains better with sugar.

At home, it is best to make coffee from a Luwak animal in a Turk.

You can try adding a small pinch of table salt during cooking. They say that this way the drink is richer.

How to brew coffee Luwak classically:

• warm the Turk a little over the fire;
• then pour ground coffee into it. If necessary, add spices, sugar;
• re-warm the turku, pour very cold water almost to the top and mix everything with a spoon. The slower the drink is brewed, the tastier it comes out;
• waiting for the foam, remove from heat and cool. Then repeat the procedure a couple of times. It must be taken into account that the drink should not boil, and the foam should remain intact - otherwise the coffee aroma will quickly disappear;
• remove the foam with a spoon;
• pour coffee into cups (if everything is done correctly, then the foam will occupy the entire surface of the drink).

In addition to sugar, and in rare cases, salt, spices, alcoholic beverages, and milk are added to Luwak coffee. Experiments with their combination and quantity allow you to get an unimaginable number of recipes. Of the spices for making coffee suitable: cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, ginger, allspice, cloves and more.

How to brew coffee Luwak - recipes

And now about how to make Luwak coffee according to ready-made recipes.

"Mediterranean coffee":

• glass of water;
• 2 teaspoons of coffee;
• cocoa, cinnamon, anise - ½ teaspoon each;
• ginger and orange zest - a quarter.

“With cinnamon and black pepper”:

• making coffee in the usual way;
• put a pinch of cinnamon on the bottom of the turkish with sugar, and at the end of the preparation throw peppercorns in the resulting drink.

“With cardamom and spices”:

• 1.5 cups of water;
• 3 teaspoons of coffee;
• 5 boxes of green cardamom;
• ½ cloves;
• anise and ginger powder.

In a well-heated Turk over a small fire, send finely chopped cardamom, cloves, a quarter tablespoon of ginger and anise.

Packaging with Kopi Luwak coffee

As soon as the aroma of spices spreads in the kitchen space, add coffee to the inside, mix with spices by shaking the turks, pour filtered water. Put on a slow fire, wait for the foam to rise, ideally three times, if laziness - then once will be enough.

Coffee Luwak reviews

As most gourmets admit, the described drink causes an ambiguous reaction. Not everything is nice and good, which is expensive. So, coffee Luwak reviews:

• the girl wrote on one of the forums that the originality of production and the number of fakes always stopped her from acquiring coffee in the Luwak coffee (and in Russia this is generally a disaster!). Allegedly, I bought a lot of materials and videos on this topic. Intuition did not disappoint, bought a quality product. Appreciated it;
• she is echoed by a guy who admitted that the coffee is excellent, the taste attracted a slight sourness, which does not spoil the taste, but rather complements it. It is unprofitable to drink such a drink daily, on weekends - just right;
• a group of friends tasted coffee, each of them was satisfied. I was particularly struck that the drink completely lacks the bitterness inherent in ordinary coffee. The aroma is delicate and pleasant. The only thing is the biting cost of the product;
• another guy admitted that he was thinking about how to spend such a ton of money on coffee! Coffee! It turned out that the taste is more than unusual - soft, and as if weightless;
• among the laudatory words come across and critical. There are people who claim that the taste of Luwak coffee is simply disgusting. Firstly, lifeless, and secondly, faded. So, for an amateur ...

How much does Luwak coffee cost?

The cost of Luwak coffee is not just high, but very high. In general, it ranges from 250 to 1200 dollars per kilogram. The inability to arrange the receipt of coffee Luwak Indonesia on an industrial scale dictates a high price for it.

But, despite the high cost, the goods are bought up with a bang!

Those who want to try an unusual coffee drink are not reduced. Even the prohibitive cost of coffee Luwak does not stop enthusiasts. Everyone wants to understand what is so special about him. Someone after the test assures that he figured it out, the other only pretends, but in fact does not find anything special in him, and the third does not hide the annoyance for the wasted money.

Sell \u200b\u200bLuwak coffee photos in chic, beautifully designed packages. Well, well, an expensive product should be presented, as befits a level of prestige of a product! In beautiful banks, wooden caskets, in metallized bags. It is packaged in 100 and 1000 grams.

And we buy Luwak coffee from us, the price in Russia, if it differs from the global one in terms of rubles, is not dramatic. Well, one must understand that there is a wrap due to transportation costs, and due to the intervention of resellers. So for a 300-gram package of Luwak coffee (price in Moscow) you need to pay a little more than five and a half thousand, for a 200-gram package - about five thousand.

If you like to experiment, be sure to try it.

And finally. On the Internet there are many interesting videos that can be arbitrarily combined with the term coffee Luwak video. In them you can get information about the vital activity of the musanga animal, about how raw materials are collected in Indonesian forests. Thank you for your attention, see you soon!

Coffee is a favorite drink of the inhabitants of the Earth. It is with him that the morning of many Russians begins. Someone loves instant coffee, someone likes brewed coffee. Someone prefers to grind grains and cook in a Turk. What can I say, a matter of taste. And true connoisseurs of this drink prefer to drink the most expensive coffee in the world, paying tribute to fashion and the established image of a coffee lover. What varieties of those who are interested in this issue are most quoted?

Top five

In fact, there are only two main coffee varieties - arabica and robusta. The first one is believed to have a finer flavor and contains less caffeine than robusta. The second, cheaper, with bitterness and sourness, contains more caffeine. The most common in the world is arabica. How much does coffee cost? How is its price formed? Here are just some data, a kind of hit parade of expensive coffee.

Fifth place

The fifth place on this list is occupied by “Blue Mountain” - coffee, the price per kilogram of which reaches $ 90. It is made in Jamaica and is famous for its mild taste without hints of bitterness. As a basis, it is used to make the famous Tia Maria liquor.

Fourth place

The fourth is Fazenda Santa Ines. It comes to $ 100 per kilo. It is produced in Brazil (Minas Gerais) manually. Differs from others in the sweet aftertaste of berries and caramel.

Third place

Third - coffee "St. Helena" (there is such an island, famous for the fact that Napoleon was in exile there). They make it from the fruits of the same Arabica, which, however, grow only in this place. Coffee is famous for its delicate fruity aftertaste.

Second place

The second place of our hit parade is Esmeralda, the most expensive type of coffee obtained by traditional, emphasize, processing. The price per kilogram reaches $ 200! It is produced in the mountains of Panama, its western part. It has an original taste, which is believed to be the result of careful collection and a cool climate.

The most expensive coffee - from excrement?

And finally, the most “valuable” is “Kopi Luwak”. You can translate the first word as, in fact, coffee. The second word is the name of the animal, thanks to which the most expensive coffee in the world appears. The fact is that it is "produced" with the help of African palm civet very unusual. The animals (resembling squirrels in appearance) eat the berries of a coffee tree. Further - everything passes through the intestines of civet, while the coffee beans remain undigested.

Originally the most expensive coffee in the world - from Indonesia. Its plantations are located on the islands of Java and Sumatra. Farmers of these plantations collect ripened fruits in a traditional manner. After that they feed civet, which are contained in special enclosures. The animals eat them with pleasure. Then, when the coffee beans themselves come out with excrement, they are cleaned, washed, dried. Later - slightly fried.

The most expensive coffee in the world, obtained as a result of the vital activity of Indonesian civet, is famous for its very delicate aroma. Natural enzymes give it a special softness of taste. The retail price for a cup of such a drink can reach up to $ 50. And the cost of a kilogram is up to a thousand.

Limited supply

Each year, only about five hundred kilograms of Kopi Luwak beans enter the coffee markets. Therefore, it is appreciated. It's all about rarity and elitism, and, of course, taste. What epithets just do not exalt the merits of this coffee sellers and manufacturers: caramel, with a touch of cherry, a drink of the gods, with the aroma of vanilla and chocolate. In any case, this is a premium drink, which certainly enjoys great demand among the most zealous coffee drinkers, like everything elite and rare.

Historical perspective

There is even a legend about the origin of this "drink of the gods." It is said that during the time of colonization, planters forbade workers to take coffee grains from plantations due to its high cost. Then people began to pick up coffee specifically treated with civet from the ground (it was already impossible to sell it). The grains were washed, dried, and ground. Brewed such coffee and drank. Then one of the white planters tried this drink for the poor. Amazed at the delicate taste, he began to promote the product on the market. Since then, Kopi Luwak delights drink lovers with its unique taste.

By the way, in Vietnam, for example, there is a counterpart to the famous “Luwak” - coffee called “Cheon”. It is cheaper and made in a similar way. It is said that this type of coffee has an even more pronounced aftertaste of grains processed with enzymes of the local animal variety.

African civet

Thus, the main producer of an expensive product is civet itself. The animal belongs to the same family as the mongoose, outwardly even resembles it. Although by habits it is more like a cat. Civet spends most of his life on trees. Like a cat, she knows how to put her claws into pads. Local residents often tame civet, and they get along well with people: they drink milk, live in houses, respond to nicknames, regularly catch rodents, sleep at the owner’s feet, and, in general, turn into pets. This animal is also used as a source of musk used in the perfume industry. And, of course, for the production of high-end coffee.

They say the best is from wild civet, which make their way to the plantations at night. And in the morning, farmers, as thanks from the animals, collect excrement under coffee bushes as raw materials for the production of the “drink of the gods." Each civet can eat up to one kilogram of coffee berries per day. On the way out, this can only give up to fifty grams of processed grains. I must say who civet feeds on animal food, and not just berries. In the diet of domesticated civet there is, for example, chicken. These are nocturnal animals. And they, as a rule, do not breed in captivity. Among other things, the enzyme, so liked by coffee lovers, animals can produce only six months. The rest of the time they are kept "wasted" or even released into the wild, so as not to feed in vain. And then they catch it again.

A new word in coffee production

At the moment, according to some reports, the civet has lost the palm to the elephants, from the excrement of which, it turns out, they also produce elite coffee in Thailand. The technology is similar, but this type of coffee is called “Black Tusk”! Bon appetit to all!