Had it once too. It was a long time ago but definitely one of the best cups I’ve had. Can probably be described to taste as regular coffee smells, with very little bitterness. Since then I’ve learned many producers have the animals in cages and don’t treat them well, and there are no good ways to source ethically made Kopi Luwak, so I never really felt the need to buy it again.
Surely there’s a way to do this industrially without using actual monkeys?
We know how stomachs work, we know the enzymes in their saliva, and we can even select the best gut bacteria for the best taste, stick it all in a warm bath for a few days and you’ll get the same thing.
Gotcha, it’s cheaper to exploit something/someone than to do it ethically. Yet, once it is produced in mass, I’m sure it can be sold at way higher volume and thus sell at a higher revenue stream. Especially once the process is effectively efficient and cheaply done. However, the bump in upfront cost from exploiting for short-term gain to this is rather large. If only there was a relatively community driven system that already takes a percentage of people’s income to lessen the cost or burden for such services as a way to incentivize ethical processes…
The only time I have had enjoyed this coffee was about 12 years ago when I’m on vacation in south east Asia.
And to be completely honest, it was the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had in my life.
It was 5 or 6 times the price of a normal coffee.
Did you drink it black? How was it better, was it smoother/stronger? Would you get it again?
Had it once too. It was a long time ago but definitely one of the best cups I’ve had. Can probably be described to taste as regular coffee smells, with very little bitterness. Since then I’ve learned many producers have the animals in cages and don’t treat them well, and there are no good ways to source ethically made Kopi Luwak, so I never really felt the need to buy it again.
Surely there’s a way to do this industrially without using actual monkeys?
We know how stomachs work, we know the enzymes in their saliva, and we can even select the best gut bacteria for the best taste, stick it all in a warm bath for a few days and you’ll get the same thing.
It would be great. My guess is, as with many things, it’s just more profitable to use the very simple manufacturing process in low cost countries
Gotcha, it’s cheaper to exploit something/someone than to do it ethically. Yet, once it is produced in mass, I’m sure it can be sold at way higher volume and thus sell at a higher revenue stream. Especially once the process is effectively efficient and cheaply done. However, the bump in upfront cost from exploiting for short-term gain to this is rather large. If only there was a relatively community driven system that already takes a percentage of people’s income to lessen the cost or burden for such services as a way to incentivize ethical processes…