Manfaat Kebiasaan Minum Kopi

Buat saya yang sudah minum kopi sejak kelas 3 SD (umur 8 tahun), manfaat yang sudah pasti dirasakan adalah rasa nyaman. As long as I remember, pertama kali diperkenalkan dengan kopi adalah saat makan buah alpukat yang diatasnya diberikan beberapa sendok air kopi tubruk dan taburan gula oleh ibu saya. Sejak saat itu, terutama di masa-masa kuliah, kopi sudah menjadi keseharian saya di pagi atau malam hari. Takarannya tentu saya atur (walaupun gila kopi), since anything that is ‘too much’ is not good for us ;)

Pro dan kontra seputar kopi sudah banyak dibahas. Daripada pusing mikir kontra-nya, di bawah ini adalah manfaat kebiasaan minum kopi, beberapa diantaranya saya juga baru tau:

1. Mengurangi risiko pengidapan diabetes
Seseorang yang minum kopi lebih dari 6 cangkir sehari berisiko rendah terserang diabetes dibandingkan dengan orang yang tidak minum kopi sama sekali. Inilah kesimpulan dari sebuah riset skala besar yang dilakukan terhadap 80ribu orang selama 18 tahun di Amerika Serikat

2. Kafein mengurangi derita sakit kepala
Sebuah penelitian menemukan bahwa kafein yang terdapat dalam kopi atau the (dalam jumlah tertentu) sanggup membantu mengobati sakit kepala. Seimur Diamond, M.D. dari Chicago’s Diamond Headache Clinic, penderita migren dalam kategori ringan dapat disembuhkan dengan secangkir kopi pekat. Jadi sebelum minum obat, coba sembuhkan sakit kepala dulu dengan minuman berkafein (ini yang ibu saya sering lakukan, “Pusing, minum kopi dulu deh mama…’)

3. Kafein membantu kita untuk bisa berpikir lebih cepat
Coba konsumsi teh atau kopi 15/30menit sebelum wawancara atau presentasi di kantor, hasilnya mungkin akan cukup lumayan karena kafein yang terdapat dalam kopi atau teh terbukti mampu memberi ‘sinyal’ pada otak untuk lebih cepat merespon dan dengan tangkas mengolah memori pada otak

4. Kafein dapat membuat badan tidak cepat lelah dan bisa melakukan aktifitas fisik lebih lama. Hal ini diperkirakan karena kafein menbuat ‘bahan bakar’ yang dipakai otot lebih lama

5. Kafein bisa meningkatkan rasa riang, membuat kita merasa lebih segar dan enerjik

6. Kafein dapat menangkal radikal bebas dan menghancurkan molekul yang dapat merusak sel DNA

Sumber diambil dari www.detikhealth.com yang disadur oleh Indriani dalam buku terbitan Gramedia berjudul ‘100 Resep Cold Coffee: for Coffee Lovers’.

(*written by Vera Makki* - http://kopiluwakstory.blogspot.com )

One Fine Morning at Citos

Sudah cukup lama saya tidak ke Citos (Cilandak Town Square) di pagi hari. Janjian bertemu dengan seorang rekan pukul 8am, awalnya saya tidak menyebutkan lokasi detil tempat bertemu. Saya pikir, kita lihat on the spot, mana tempat yang paling enak untuk diskusi (pastinya yang sudah buka, ada wifi, ada colokan).

Setibanya di Citos, awalnya supir saya sempat bingung karena pintu masuk masih ditutup oleh security yang standby di depannya. Ternyata, tanpa saya tahu juga mengapa, ia hanya membuka tali pengaman apabila ada mobil yang benar-benar ingin masuk ke Citos (gak repot ya pak?)

Setibanya di Citos, Dome Cafe masih tutup. Awalnya saya ingin ke Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, namun belum buka, masih gelap, petugasnya masih mengepel lantai. Too bad, I already thought of its breakfast combo. Satu outlet yang memang sudah terang benderang dengan beberapa orang di dalamnya sudah asyik baca koran atau berkutat dengan laptopnya adalah... Starbucks. Juara deh emang!

To be fair to other coffee shops, saya pun menengok sebentar ke lorong untuk melihat tempat mana lagi yang bisa dikunjungi pagi ini... dan saya pun melihat JCo sudah beroperasi. Namun akhirnya pilihan saya kembali ke Starbucks, walaupun saat masuk, AC nya lumayan dingin. Langsung saya cari tempat duduk sesuai kriteria: dekat colokan.

Starbucks pintar juga, di ruangan yang dingin ini... pilihan tepat adalah menyeduh kopi panas dan menghangatkan badan dengan pilihan sarapan pagi yang yummy. Pilihan saya jatuh ke Hot Latte original (tanpa tambahan flavour apapun) plus blueberry muffin (yang dihangatkan + extra 2 margarine). Barista di sini helpful, proactive, charming dan handal (berbeda dengan yang saya kunjungi dua hari lalu di Kemang Village).

A chat with my friend went well ... my body got warm... a great Friday morning, I had. Blessed. (*written by Vera Makki* - http://kopiluwakstory.blogspot.com/)

From New Orleans with Love

Selamat Tahun Baru! Ih... udah tanggal berapa ini? kok baru tahun baruan sekarang? :) saya baru sadar terakhir mereview kopi di bulan September lalu, sehingga perkenankan saya mengucapkan selamat tahun baru untuk para pecinta kopi melalui site ini.

Akhir pekan lalu saya 'girls nite out' dengan puteri saya, 6 tahun, berdua saja. Kita ke Blitz Teraskota dan nonton 'The Princess and the frog'. Film ini pas kita tonton berdua karena setting film ini mengantarkan saya ke lima tahun silam saat liburan ke New Orleans, LA - dimana saat itu puteri saya berusia hampir 1 tahun. We had a wonderful memory towards this city, especially for its one of a kind coffee.

New Orleans terkenal dengan kopinya yang luar biasa enak: Cafe Au Lait. Tempat nongkrong yang terkenal di sana adalah Cafe du Monde (http://www.cafedumonde.com/coffee.html). Walau punya beberapa outlet, tempat yang paling oke adalah yang terletak di Decatur Street, French Market. Di tempat yang tak pernah sepi ini, kita dapat melihat pejalan kaki lalu lalang dan menikmati alunan jazz gratis a la Louis Armstrong yang dimainkan oleh seniman di pinggir taman. Dari tempat terbuka ini, kita juga dapat merasakan suasana di masa kolonial melalui arsitektur gedung-gedung cantik perpaduan gaya Spanyol dan Perancis.

Cafe Au Lait, walaupun namanya telah dipakai oleh beberapa coffee shop di Indonesia, namun rasanya belum ada yang sanggup menyamai kopi ini (jangan salahkan saya kalau saat mencoba Cafe Au Lait di beberapa tempat di Jakarta, saya masih menyebutnya 'kopi abal-abal'). Instruksi pembuatan kopi ini sesungguhnya gampang banget: 1/2 kopi panas + 1/2 susu panas. Tapiii... kok udah dicoba gak ada yang bisa nyamain rasanya ya... pasti ada additional secret ingredients deh (and I know what it is!)

Cafe Au Lait (baca: o le) terbuat dari kopi hitam (dark roasted) asal Perancis dan Chicory, yaitu akar tanaman endive semacam lettuce. Akar ini dibakar dan digiling, untuk kemudian dicampur bersama kopi hitam untuk menambah kekentalan dan rasa pada kopi, sehingga tidak terlalu pahit dan encer.

Nah pasangan Cafe Au Lait yang pas adalah beignet (baca: be nye) yaitu semacam donat namun berbentuk persegi empat yang digoreng panas hingga mengembang dan setelahnya ditaburi gula bubuk (powdered sugar) di atasnya. Satu piring berisi tiga buah. Rasanya yummy bangetttt!!!

Nah yang seru nih, sepulang dari New Orleans, saya pun bekerja part time sebagai manager Cafe khas New Orleans yang menyajikan Cafe Au Lait di Houston, TX saat saya sekolah di sana. Lumayan, sehari dapat US$75 + tips + Cafe Au Lait dan beignet gratisan ... sesekali saya pun yang harus mengolah kopi tersebut dan bahkan menggoreng beignet. Jadi tau nih rahasianya...

Nonton 'The Princess and the frog', selain ceritanya lucu, pikiran saya pun melayang kembali ke masa-masa indah tersebut. Jadi kangen banget sama Cafe Au Lait nya, apalagi beignetnya (ini sedap banget loh dimakan saat musim hujan seperti sekarang ini). Sayangnya... bahan-bahan dasar pembuat beignet dan kopi ini gak ada di Indonesia. Jadi susah bereksperimen. Sudah pernah coba, yang ada, rasanya seperti kue bantal. Hahaha... (*written by vera makki - http://kopiluwakstory.blogspot.com/)

Another Great Coffee in Makassar

Namanya warung kopi Hai Hong. Jangan membayangkan warung ini terletak di lokasi strategis. Enggak banget, justru saya menemukannya saat potong jalan dari warung kopi Phoenam menuju hotel di Losari. Warung ini terletak di gang jalan sempit.

Saat melewati warung ini, saya langsung tertarik dengan eksteriornya yang dutch style. Tempo doeloe banget! Pemilihan cat temboknya juga keren, orange. Di dalamnya, warung dibagi ke dalam dua bagian, bagian pertama menjual berbagai snack khas Makassar, di bagian kedua, terdapat beberapa meja bundar untuk minum kopi. Dibanding Phoenam, tempat ini lebih enak buat nongkrong berjam-jam. Tidak ada AC, namun uniknya, tempat ini adem dan sangat nyaman, apalagi hanya diberi kipas di atasnya.

Saya pun diberitahu gadis yang berjualan (pd banget ya saya bilang gadis???), bahwa pemiliknya sedang berada di situ (ia pun menunjuk seseorang yang konon adalah pemilik warung Hai Hong). Bapak ini pun berjalan ke arah saya, muka lempeng, sepertinya keturunan Chinese, dan hanya menggunakan kaos oblong putih + celana pendek hitam + sendal jepit. Saat saya tersenyum padanya, teman-teman si bapak yang sedang asyik ngopi pun langsung menggoda sang bapak 'Ini nih yang punya toko, foto dong dia-nya'. Bapaknya pun malu-malu sambil menampik. Ternyata eh ternyata... gadis yang tadi iseng nunjuk2x pemilik toko itu adalah anaknya. Dan yang menyiapkan kopi saya adalah ibunya. Lucu juga ya... suasana akrab dan kehangatan di antara pemilik, keluarga dan pengunjung-pengunjungnya langsung bisa saya rasakan saat itu.

Nah akhirnya, sesuai permintaan teman-teman si bapak, keluar deh hasil jepretan foto ini. Coba cari... hayooo, mana yang pemilik warkop tersebut? :)

Oh btw, akhirnya saya pun memesan kopi susu dingin. Sekedar ingin membandingkan dengan Phoenam. Rasanya sedikit berbeda dengan Phoenam, yang pasti dua-duanya enak. Dan yang pastinya juga, kopi dingin ini rasanya gak kalah dengan ice coffee yang dijual di mal-mal Jakarta. Bedanya, kopi ini terasa unik khas Sulawesi dan ada sedikit rasa vanila yang membuat kopi ini lebih harum dan rasanya sedikit manis.

Ngomong-ngomong, ada cerita kocak juga nih. Karena sore harus mengejar pesawat kembali ke Jakarta, kopi yang saya pesan tersebut pun dengan terpaksa tidak bisa dinikmati 'on the spot', tetapi harus saya bawa pulang. Nah, forget about a proper cup, lid and straw - kopi ku itu, dibawanya bener2x kayak jaman SD dulu - minuman dimasukkan ke kantong plastik, diiket pake karet gelang dimana sedotannya bener2x terjepit keras, sehingga tidak bisa diminum dengan lancar. Hahaha...

Cita-cita: suatu hari bisa ke sana pagi atau sore. Spend 2-3 hours of reading books and enjoy his coffee. (*written by vera makki* - http://kopiluwakstory.blogspot.com/)

One Day in Makassar - Phoenam

Warung Kopi yang satu ini emang dahsyat! Phoenam coffee has spreaded its wing by opening new outlets at some areas including mal, but the ambiance remains different when we're going to its original place in a simple 'ruko' with just ordinary guests.

I went there in the morning, and at the moment I got out from my car, I could sensed strong coffee fragrant that increased my mood without any delays (Padahal masih di lapangan parkirnya bo!) Well, entering the store, there were couple of small tables and several guests who looked like having frequent breakfast meeting with close friends. Feels that the place was warm welcoming us.

My Makassar's cousin warned me to drink coffee with milk otherwise my heart will beat harder just in case am one of those people who are not really a friend of caffeine. Then I followed.

The moment I sip the coffee with milk, my God, it taste soooooo greatttt! Yes, it was very strong, but they could mix it with milk just right. My husband drank it with rare egg to boost energy. (can I say yuck!!! ????). Kali-kali aja pada mau nyoba.

One thing for sure is that, you need to have extra time when having this activity, and preferably in the morning. Paling enak 'nyeruput' kopi ini sedikit-sedikit sambil ngobrol. I don't know exactly the caffeine level of this coffee, but by experience, I can tell it's pretty strong in which you want to drink it slowly (plus, on the right moment, with the right companions.)

And hey, can't believe the price, it's only Rp.11rb. Worth it (*written by vera makki - http://kopiluwakstory.blogspot.com)

The new coffee at Bakmi GM

Who doesn't like Bakmi GM? I'm a big fan of Bakmi GM since I was a teenager. Recently it started to expand its menu collection by offering bubble coffee. Sadly to say, they need to improve the taste, it's not worth the expensive price nor the flavour. I tried the coffee at Bakmi GM Mal Ambassador while having a small meeting. We continued the meeting at the office, I was decided to change the coffee with Pak Eman's. Better I pay pak Eman the same amount of money rather than buying it at Bakmi GM. No need to think twice on that.



I hope Bakmi GM improves its quality of coffee. I believe it won't be too difficult. Just meeting the standard of good coffee will be ok at this stage, at least not offering low quality of coffee as it's not acceptable for a big brand like Bakmi GM. Awaiting... (*written by vera makki - http://kopiluwakstory.blogspot.com/)

Kopi Pak Eman

It's not his responsibility to make us coffees everyday. With that in mind, I always made my own coffee at the pantry with no good standard of quality. Well, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's too bitter, sometimes it's just ok, sometimes I just left it at the pantry for tasting a very low quality coffee of my own creation.

One day I was extremely busy as for the very first time I asked our beloved Pak Eman to make me a cup of coffee. Hasilnya dahsyat beratttzzz. He only mix sugar, Nescafe and creamer. The power of composition & mixture works! And... he did it constantly well.

Since then, I frequently ask his favour to provide the drink out of his daily activities. It's really soothing at the same time energizing everytime I sip the coffee first time: hot, fresh, manisnya pas, kentalnya pas, rasanya passs buanggetttt!.

The other day, I was extremely low batt he noticed, "Bu, saya buatin kopi tubruk ya..". Dan memang rasanya jauh lebih gokil! Rasanya seperti benar-benar sedang berada di kedai kopi pinggir jalan, pagi-pagi menghirup udara di luar kota dan siap untuk nge-gas lagi (yes, I'm a bit imagining myself as a truck driver!).

Pak Eman, OB kantor, emang jagoan bikin kopi, mau kopi tubruk atau kopi biasa. Tapi memang buat saya, harus pakai susu full cream (preferred, rather than creamer). Have to balance a healthy life, somehow... (*written by vera makki - http://kopiluwakstory.blogspot.com)

Caramel Macchiato

A perfect coffee can be a perfect start for your morning in the office, especially if you feel a bit slow but having so many things to be done in the end of the week (Fri or perhaps Wed?).

Regular hot coffee latte or hot cappucino might not be the best solution (in fact, its soothing effect will even slower your day). I tried Iced Caramel Macchiato the other day for my morning (upsized from tall to grande, thanks to BCA).

What I like about this beverage is firstly the presentation of two layer of the signatured expresso and milk on top of it, plus a buttery caramel sauce (it's only 190 cals for this 16oz coffee, no worries la ya...).

The expresso really make it distictive with vanila flavour, and does energize, not only my morning, but also the whole day. I had 3 meetings at 10am, 1pm and 3pm, all of which accompanied by this grande coffee (not three cups, only by this one cup!)

Nice combination:

Try its breakfast selection, hot chicken sandwich with apple, raisin and spinach. Despite of its large portion (around 8x4.5cm), it's considered healthy for having abundant spinach, little square cheese on top of the bread, sliced of sweet apple and raisins spreaded randomly inside. Yummy!!!!

(*written by vera makki - http://kopiluwakstory.blogspot.com)

Cappucino Blast

This is one of my favorite drink, coming from my children's fav ice cream, baskin robbins. Although a bit expensive, cappucino blast offers a mouthwatering coffee blended with its vanila ice cream. Personally I believed there are two things that make this coffee strikes your palate. First, the coffee powder it has. Second, the classic vanila ice cream found in 1945. Perfect blend!

I've ever tried to mix the blast with another flavour, which was the most fav and sought after jamaica almond fudge. Don't ever try. Gak keruan rasanya :)

Sometimes I'm unsure whether it can be called a coffee, since the flavour is so much into vanila and very little of caffeine (but the taste is so damn good!). Positively, perhaps that's the reason why I have no fear to share the drink with my 6 and 2.5 y.o children. Bukan kopi tubruk, gak papa dong...

At the end of the day, let's not think of it too hard (this is special case).

Enjoy the fresh cappucino blast! (*written by vera makki - http://kopiluwakstory.blogspot.com/)

Strappuccino

Coffee lovers who want to play a bit with their tongue may try this new item Strawpuccino by Tamani. It's made by one shot expresso with one scoop strawberry ice cream, plus to minimize guilty feeling of this guilty pleasure, it comes with a strawberry fruit to balance your healthy intake, haha.


The coffee comes with additional sugar syrup but I believe that it will be too much since the ice cream contains hi-sugar already. Better not put additional syrup on it.



Taste is good, the flavour of the coffee remains unexpectedly strong (I thought it's gonna be too sweet). In fact, it leaves a bit bitter in my mouth (which is good) and that's probably due to the quality of the coffee itself. Tamani just recently changes the coffee supplier from Illy to d'angelo from Italy (http://www.caffedangelo.com/)



It's quite worth the price of Rp. 22.900,-
(*written by vera makki - http://kopiluwakstory.blogspot.com/)

Biji Kopi Luwak - make sure you get the original one! Only from Indonesia ...
(Courtesy picture by Dr. Marcone)

Don't worry, it is safe to drink Kopi Luwak!

Elvera N. Makki, Contributor/Houston, Texas
The Jakarta Post, Features News - Friday, February 18, 2005

Do you dare drinking Kopi Luwak, a coffee which beans are coming out of Luwak's feces? Is it safe enough for your stomach?

"Yes, it is" said Adjunct Professor Massimo Marcone, a food scientist from University of Guelp, Ontario, Canada, "although the beans has passed through luwak's digestive system, my test shows that the counts of bacteria are lower on Kopi Luwak than on regular coffee. A strange finding but one that has been subjected to a repeated battery of scientific tests." he added.

Marcone has been studied about Kopi Luwak for two years. He traveled to Indonesia in 2003 and came back about a month a go for additional research.

“As a food scientist, I’m skeptical that anything being in contact with feces is safe,” said Marcone. “But tests revealed that the Kopi Luwak beans had negligible amounts of enteric (pathogenic) organisms associated with feces.”

In fact, the luwak beans on the market are quite clean. The local Indonesian collecting the beans perform an extensively wash under running water after collection, which dislodges bacteria.

He also analyzed that the “cherry,” or endocarp surrounding the bean, was not completely digested by the Luwak; hence, it must be removed during processing. "This likely leads to a more thorough washing process."

Including on his research was whether or not passing through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of the Luwak was in fact affecting the flavor of the beans, making it uniquely different from the regular ones.

So together with other members of his department, he completed a series of tests on the Kopi Luwak beans and compared them with Columbian beans, which were used as a control.
First, they examined if there was any color differences between unroasted samples of the two beans. Using a colorimeter – an instrument that detects different colors – they found that the Kopi Luwak beans had more red and yellow tones, whereas the control beans were more greenish in color.

Then, the surfaces of the two beans were examined using a scanning electron microscope. The Kopi Luwak beans were found to be smoother than the control, indicating that the gastric acids and/or enzymes of the Luwak were exfoliating the surface of the bean, explained Marcone.

Pitting was also observed on the surface, and the next step was to determine if the acids and enzymes were actually penetrating the Kopi Luwak beans, affecting them in some way.

Electrophoresis – a method that “fingerprints” proteins – was used to determine differences in the protein content of Kopi Luwak and control beans. The Kopi Luwak beans were found to be lower in total protein, meaning that proteins were partially broken down and leached out during their travel in GI tract of the Luwak.

This has the potential to affect the flavor and aroma of the beans because as we may all aware that proteins are responsible for much of the flavor, particularly bitterness. Since Kopi Luwak beans have less protein, they may produce a less bitter coffee, which for some people has made it a premium taste.

Analysis of the volatile compounds that also responsible for flavor and aroma also showed that they were significantly different than the control, further indicating the potential for Kopi Luwak coffee having a different flavor than ordinary coffee.

It’s also believed that fermentation process inside the luwak's digestive system could give the coffee a unique flavor, “More tests need to be completed, though, to determine if in fact a flavor difference is occurring.”

In the coffee industry, wet processed or fermented coffees are known to have superior flavor to dry-processed coffee, “When coffee cherries are processed through the digestive track, they actually undergo a type of wet processing due to acidification in the stomach and fermentation due to the natural intestinal microflora."

”The exceptional Kopi Luwak flavor could be due to the type of wet process the beans undergo in the luwak’s digestive tracks," he said.

On the last trip to Indonesia, Marcone was stationed in Padang (West Sumatra) but the plantation he visited was in Northern Sumatra.

He met few people including the owner of the plantation who has collected over seventy kilos of the beans for this year, and he actually also enjoyed collecting his own Kopi Luwak.

If the plantation owner he met was the same person who dealt with the US specialty coffee importer LJ Cooper Co., it must be a very good news for the company that the beans are finally about to ship in.

It is obvious that neither Cooper nor Marcone revealed the detail contact of the plantation owner with me or anybody, not even shared the exact place where the luwak's beans were found.

It is understandable since confidentiality is what matter most, considering exploitation of Luwak may occur if the name and place are disclosed.

How the luwaks eat the reddest ripest cherry and the time when they relieve themselves are very natural process. People who has a big obsession to make money out of it may jeopardize that process. They may start to breed the luwaks which has been avoided from the beginning. If this happens, no more exclusivity.

Marcone brought home some of the beans for additional research, "I will possibly publish another paper especially should there are any new findings but it will surely take time and need more research dollar." ended Marcone. (*written by vera makki - http://kopiluwakstory.blogspot.com/)

Finding Luwak's feces - Dr. Marcone explored Northern Sumatra jungle to support his research on Kopi Luwak
(Courtesy picture by Dr. Marcone)

'Kopi luwak', the world's most expensive coffee
Elvera N. Makki, Contributor/Houston, Texas
The Jakarta Post, Features News - Friday, February 18, 2005

Are you a coffee aficionado?

If your answer is yes, then you must try kopi luwak. It's the most expensive coffee you can buy here.

Another thing is, it is also the rarest coffee ever. You cannot find this in major cafes, even in Indonesia itself.

So beware of fake kopi luwak. When I was on vacation in Jakarta a couple months ago, I was intrigued by a kopi luwak advertisement in a well-known women's magazine.

Surprisingly, during the phone conversation with the marketing officer, he honestly explained that it was not genuine kopi luwak that his company was selling: It contained no kopi luwak ingredients. The company simply used the brand name solely for commercial purposes.

Kopi is Indonesian for coffee. A luwak (civet) is a tree-dwelling animal that lives mainly in Sumatran jungles, climbs coffee trees and eats only the ripest, reddest coffee berries.

Also known as Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, this animal digests the coffee beans in such a way that they turn out to be fully wrapped, clean and fairly intact when excreted.

It is not yet known how local farmers got the idea at the start to gather luwak feces, which contained coffee beans. Perhaps one thing that they did not expect was that they had found something valuable, which was to become an Indonesian best-seller.

At kopi luwak wholesalers, the unroasted product costs about US$250 per kilo while roasted beans may cost about US$600 per kilo. Several coffee shops sell it at a premium price of US$5 per cup -- beating the price of any other coffee for the same quantity.

"Of course, the rarity of this coffee has made it exclusive and pricey," said Lenny Cooper, the owner of LJ Cooper Co., an established U.S. company that provides world-class specialty coffee beans from around the globe, including Sulawesi and Sumatra.

The fact that luwak are not held in captivity and the way the beans are processed has made them extremely scarce.

"Only 250 kilograms of the beans are produced annually. My portion is around 40 kilograms," added Cooper, whose company has become the largest kopi luwak supplier in the United States.
Cooper mentioned that it took years to find a reliable, stable supplier of kopi luwak beans, which, unfortunately, is not Indonesian-owned but rather Daarhnour from the Netherlands; they put him in touch with the plantation owner in Sumatra.

From there, he has distributed the coffee to dozens of buyers, mostly in the western and eastern parts of the U.S., with his biggest client, M.P Mountanos Inc., located in Los Angeles.
"We have experienced a shortage of kopi luwak since last year. There has been no shipping for a couple of months," complained Cooper. "If I could get 10 tonnes of the beans, I would guarantee I'd be able to sell it all easily."

Cooper, who orders two tonnes of the beans every year, believes that importing kopi luwak is a very lucrative business, although it only contributes about 1 percent of his total business revenue, so that uncertainties over coffee shipment arrivals will not unduly affect his overall business.

"But I am not talking about total revenue here; rather, it is more about how to provide the most exclusive coffee to a niche market." said Cooper.

"I have been asked to sell robusta kopi luwak, which is cheaper. I refused to sell it: It's not the real thing!"

Furthermore, discerning customers would notice the taste, which is known to be uniquely earthy, musty and almost syrupy.

"I tried kopi luwak two years ago at a small gathering at my friend's house," said Maria Lopez, a Houstonian who describes herself as a coffee addict. "Frankly speaking, it was a no-no for me to drink a beverage made from animal feces; I mean, come on," she chuckled.

After her friend had roasted the beans, she could not help but try it. "The aroma was so damn good, very exotic, rich and strong."

"From the moment I sipped it, I knew it was Sumatran coffee, but it had a different flavor -- something between caramel and chocolate. It was very smooth as well."

It was a different story for Rinto Muhammadsyah, who tried kopi luwak at a five-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

"I was just curious to try the most sought-after coffee in the world. At least I had the experience of drinking it." (*written by vera makki - http://kopiluwakstory.blogspot.com/)

The professor with baby luwak, so cute! ( I mean the baby luwak)
Courtesy picture by Dr. Marcone