23 May 2010
From Dung to Coffee Brew With No Aftertaste

Despite my java addiction, here's one cuppa Joe I'll pass by without a second thought - aftertaste be damned...

Costing hundreds of dollars a pound, these beans are found in the droppings of the civet, a nocturnal, furry, long-tailed catlike animal that prowls Southeast Asia’s coffee-growing lands for the tastiest, ripest coffee cherries. The civet eventually excretes the hard, indigestible innards of the fruit — essentially, incipient coffee beans — though only after they have been fermented in the animal’s stomach acids and enzymes to produce a brew described as smooth, chocolaty and devoid of any bitter aftertaste.

(link) [New York Times]

20:56 /Humor | 1 comment | permanent link