Bites: Kopi Luwak

Perth’s coffee culture is getting richer by the day, with cafes serving top brews from boutique coffee roasters popping up and coffee fanatics putting on coffee tastings as wine lovers do with wine.

For those seeking the next ultimate coffee experience, a pack of the sought-after Kopi Luwak coffee beans has been donated for auction by West Perth-based coffee roaster, Fiori Coffee, to raise money for the Autism Association’s Early Intervention Centre.

The pack of unroasted beans, which can sell up to $1,200 a kilo, is the only one in Western Australia and has been donated to Michael Carroll, who will coordinate the auction.

Mr Carroll hosts the coffee blog, Café Grendel.

Kopi Luwak – for those who haven’t heard of it – comprises coffee beans that have been ‘refined’ through the digestive system of the Luwak (pictured), an Asian palm civet cat native to the Indonesian archipelago.

The premium Kopi Luwak is from wild civets, which steal the choice, plump ripe coffee cherries from high altitude Arabica coffee plants.

The civet droppings are collected from the forest floor by farmers.

The inner bean of the berry is not digested, but digestive enzymes remove some of the bitterness and reduce the caffeine, resulting in a mild but full-bodied coffee.

“It is our intent to auction to the business community of WA a coffee ‘experience’, Mr Carroll told Gusto.

“The winning bidder will have the coffee roasted freshly for them, and, if they desire Café Grendel and Fiori Coffee will arrive to prepare and serve the coffee for them.” The pack for auction is the free range Arabica Kopi Luwak, which the is best in flavour and the most valuable, according to Mr Carroll.

“Odd that one should be so happy about being given dried cat poo.

Still, it is not every dried cat poo that is worth as much as this,” Mr Carroll said.

The auction will take place around the end of April, beginning of May, updates will be available on to http:// cafe-grendel.blogspot.com/