jacketwatch

So you may be saying what is Kopi Luwak coffee? Well there is a marsupial in Indonesia called a Luwak which eats coffee cherries and then of course passes them as its a small animal and can't fully digest them. They are collected cleaned of course and processed like all coffee beans are. Supposedly the digestive enzymes give this coffee a flavor which is so special the cost for this coffee is up to $400.00 per lb. Yep, this is correct.

So then you may be asking why in the world would you want to try it??? Well I am a lover of good coffee so naturally I'm interested. I don't love it that much that I want to buy it by the lb. but a cupful to try would be fine. I've seen Andrew Zimmern drink it in Vietnam Nam on one of his Bizarre Foods shows so I am curious if I can get it in BKK. Thanks!

chris45ny

My daughter sent me some of this coffee as my Christmas present last year. She was in Bali and had it mailed to me. I had one cup. It was ok but I prefer my Costa Rica coffee. My husband finished the rest. I had no idea it was so expensive until I saw your post! I guess I should have had more than 1 cup!!!!!!!!! It was a small pkg.-maybe 4 ozs. I remember my daughter telling me that it was made from the animal droppings and that kind of turned me off.

Sorry can't answer your question about getting it in Bangkok.

jacketwatch

Thanks for the reply. Hopefully I will be able to try it there.

chris45ny

I will send her an e-mail. She was in Thailand this past Christmas and Bangkok was one of her stays. I'll ask if she noticed it on any menus. She teaches near Hong Kong and lots of the teachers travel to Thailand for holiday.

jacketwatch

Great. I appreciate that.

simpsonc510

I read an article about another exclusive coffee that comes via animal droppings. It might be elephants? The coffee is ONLY served at (?) the Four Seasons Resort near Chiang Mai? Wish I'd kept that Bangkok Post or Nation newspaper so I could give you exact details. I was just in Bangkok for 3 weeks over the holidays and I read about this coffee while eating breakfast and catching up on the news in the paper!!

I don't know if you can get Kopi Lewak in Bangkok. I CAN tell you that you can't find something as readily available as Jamaica Blue Mountain in Bangkok!! But the Kopi Lewak comes from this part of the world so maybe...... ??? I'd like to try it also! I love my Gevalia (fresh ground beans) every morning, from my Capresso mill and drip coffee maker.

simpsonc510

(PS... the Bucket List is one of my favorite movies)

Hanuman

Doi Chaang Coffee, with 3 coffee shops in Chiang Mai, sell the locally made Luwak coffee in Thailand.

http://doichaangcoffee.com/doi-chaang-wild-civet-coffee

mohan

I was invited to a special coffee shop in Jakarta years ago to try Kopi Luwak coffee, nothing special I thought. Turns out many people think that and the hype is still on.

No need to look everywhere for it, you can do mail order in the States. I have been buying coffee online from the following place since I fell in love with Vietnamese coffee in Vietnam in 2009. Both the coffee and the customer service are good, they based just outside of Boston. I can recommend them with no problem.
http://vietnamese-coffee.com/coffee_kopi_luwak_shop.php

They ran a special on Kopi Luwak just 3 days ago but it was sold out immediately.
http://www.vietnamese-coffee.com/exc...rs.php#sumatra

Put your name on mailing list and you get notify of special discount monthly.

My fav is Legendee and Creative five. The flower oolong (loose leaves) is really good too.

Enjoy.

MichaelBKK

Due to heavy import restrictions, the choice of coffee available in Thailand is very limited. I've never seen Luwak on sale in Bangkok, even at high end supermarkets like Gourmet and Villa. I usually drink a little-known local brand called Duang Dee. Foodland has the best selection of it.

I used to have regular dealings with a roaster in Bali who did huge business in Luwak. I would get a cup or two every time I visited. They also turned me on to Kintamani coffee. Kintamani is an area high up in the volcanoes at the center of Bali and one of the few certified coffee estates in Indonesia. The coffee has a 'grassy' taste/aroma very similar to Luwak. Although it doesn't stay with you the way Luwak does, it's also very much cheaper.

jacketwatch

Wow. There are coffee lockers out there. Thanks for all the tips and info. I did not think of bringing local stuff back but I will now.

Simpson I too am a Gevalia fan, have bee for about 12 yrs. and get it regularly. Have you tried there DR Karoma Estate? It's wonderful.

Cheers. Larry

kmkrnn

MichaelBKK was in the business, so I think I would go by his recommendations, allowing for personal taste.

simpsonc510

Larry, I just get the regular whole bean Gevalia. I've tried the other coffees over the years, but I stick to the standard! I'm probably a charter member, having been a customer since they started doing business ..... maybe in the 80s? My beans still come regularly, about every 6 weeks.

Michael, I'll have to look for some of your suggestions. I know that when I'm in BKK I usually stop at Black Canyon for an iced coffee. I do NOT LIKE Starbucks at all.

jacketwatch

Mohan: I too have that site bookmarked. Glad to hear its reliable. Maybe I'll order some if I can sample a cup sometimes. I also thought just to go ahead and get it sometimes. I just got two small jars of honey from Pitcairn island. This is the place the mutineers from the HMS Bounty (Capt. Bligh, Fletcher Christian of the Mutiny on the Bounty story) settled after their infamous mutiny. Its the best honey in the world so perhaps someday I'll get impulsive again and get me some KL.

chris45ny

There's a place in Chiang Mai-Doi Chaang Coffee-that sells the locally made lewak coffee. I'll be in CM in February 2014 so I'll look for this coffee shop, have a cup and report back!

jacketwatch

If I can try a cup or two in BKK I'll report it. Our trip is planned for Oct.

thietkelogo

Thanks, i appreciate.

jacketwatch

Don't know about theKL yet as we just got in to BKK but we had an overnight here on our way to India and I did try that infamous fruit the durian so check that off the bucket list. . And it wasn't bad at all!

jacketwatch

So thanks Hanuman as there is a Doi Chaang shop next to our hotel so as you recommended I tried their Thai KL for about $20.00 per cup. For me it's good but not for that price. Kona and Blue Mountain suit my taste better but I tried it!

simpsonc510

Are you in BKK anytime between 25-30? I'll be in the city during that time.
Carol