Monkey Poo Coffee

Nominally I'm a Filipino. Both my parents were born there and so was I, but having lived in Australia for so long I'm just not very Pinoy, in language or mannerisms. Still, I like to keep a casual eye on happenings in the Philippines, such as failed coups, firing computer-illiterate judges and freak occurances of nature.

Regardless, the most interesting piece of news I've seen recently actually has to do with food. Not so much cooking and cuisine as new product development so to speak. Some resourceful Filipino entepreneurs somehow came up with the bright idea of taking the poo of civets, and putting it into coffee. Granted there's a culinary reason behind it all: the civets like eating, digesting and then excreting coffee beans, which apparently somewhere along the line gives them a unique smooth chocolatey taste (fermentation and what not). Interesting indeed, but not something I'd be creative enough to think of myself, nor really try, at least not while sober.

This Coffee Alamid, as its known, is actually a relatively rare commodity, with an annual production of only 500Kg. And it sells for about $150 a kilo. Yes that's right, $150 per kilo of poo! Rest assured though, if you do buy this connoisseur's coffee choice you're not only paying for a feast for your tastebuds, but you're also helping the environment, preserving a rare species, and supporting the livelihood of farmers!

I haven't seen it anywhere locally (and we currently have no plans to import it) but I'm sure its just a matter of time.