A great place to stop on the road past Tirtha Empul (coming south from Ubud).Just as you reach Seribatu, is Oka Agro Tourism, Br. Temen, Susut-Bangli.
Coffe Luwak or civet coffee, is coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract. A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Civets also eat small vertebrates, insects, ripe fruits and seeds. Passing through a civet’s intestines the beans are then defecated, having kept their shape.
After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world. Kopi Luwak is produced mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago. Kopi luwak is a name for many specific cultivars and blends of arabica, robusta, liberica, excelsa or other beans eaten by asian Palm civets (LUWAK), hence the taste can vary greatly.
Nonetheless, kopi luwak coffees have a shared aroma profile and flavor characteristics, along with their lack of bitterness. Kopi luwak tastes unlike heavy roasted coffees, since roasting levels range only from cinnamon color to medium, with little or no caramelization of sugars within the beans as happens with heavy roasting. Moreover, kopi luwak which have very smooth profiles are most often given a lighter roast. Iced kopi luwak brews may bring out some flavors not found in other coffees.
Kopi (Coffee) Luwak is the most expensive and rare coffee in the world and only 500 to 700 Kg. are produced per year and selling for between US$ 100 and US$ 600 per pound. It is sold by weight mainly in Japan and the United States and served in Southeast Asian coffeehouses by the cup. The beans are washed out and given only a medium/light roast so as not to destroy the complex flavors that develop through the process.
Coffee farm open daily 8am-7pm. The grandson of the owner has set up a very beautiful coffee and spice plantation that you can wander and learn about growing, harvesting, and roasting coffee. The coffee and cocoa is free to taste but they will charge you Rp. 50,000 per cup if you wish to try their Luwak coffee, ‘no credit cards’.
Kopi Luwak or Civet Coffee, is very special for coffee lovers. This Coffee is very popular, even it ever been reported in Oprah Winfrey Show TV program.
Other spices and fruit grown on the plantation are avocado, cinnamon, cocoa, mangosteen, salak (snake fruit), vanilla, ginger and tamarind. A small shop sells their harvested and processed goods.
Is it worth the money? Five dollars for a single cup?
Sure, why not? You’ll pay more than that in Bali where the Kopi Luwak is produced and you will get exotic and unforgettable moment which you can combain with the fantastic view of our Islan of the GOD, Bali.
