Bali: Now That is a Crappy Cup of Coffee

On our first day in Bali we headed out for a bike tour. On the way up to the starting point our driver stopped and let us visit a place called Bali Pulina which is known for, well, their crappy cup of coffee. They claim it is the most expensive coffee in the world but they must not have tried to buy a cup of Starbucks in Singapore.

Luwak coffee is different because of the processing method. The coffee cherries are grown in Bali and then fed to this mongoose like creature called the civet cat. The civet digests the fleshy outside of the cherry but the coffee bean is indigestible so it will pass on through the body. They collect the civet feces and pan for gold. They clean off the beans, take off the outside skin, and then roast the beans.

At Bali Pulina we got to see the whole process from start to finish and even got to try some of the coffee at the end. They do not filter this coffee when brewing so there were a lot of grounds at the bottom of the cup. I thought it was terrible but then again I hate coffee. They let us try several other coffees that weren't Luwak and a few teas so I enjoyed the tea while Derek made his way through all of the coffee. My coffee expert, Derek, said that the Luwak coffee was good but not worth the high price. It was however worth it to take the trip over to see how it is made and enjoy  our morning caffeine rush while overlooking rice terraces.

Coffee cherries

One of the civet cats and his box of berries.  I'll skip the pictures of the
next step. 

Cleaned off coffee beans.

Roasting the beans.  They do it all by hand.

Enjoying the rice terraces 

They even grow pineapples at Bali Pulina

We enjoyed the short time we spent at Bali Pulina and even bought a few of the teas to take home.  We certainly had enough caffeine to get us ready for a day of bike riding.  More to come!