"CIVET COFFEE" AND OTHER RARITIES @museum.de

The quality of a particular coffee depends on a lot of factors. For example, the species of coffee (Arabica or Robusta), the strain and the processing. The altitude, the climate and even the care exercised during cultivation will affect the quality of the coffee and its flavour.

For a long time, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee from the east of the island was regarded as the world’s most expensive coffee. It is a top quality Arabica coffee grown at high altitude and only produced in small quantities. To highlight its special nature, Jamaican green coffee is still delivered in wooden barrels even now. Supposedly the barrels previously contained Jamaican rum.

Another rarity is "Kopi Tongkonan Gunung Sesean Toraja" coffee from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, which is delivered in brightly painted little wooden barrels. The original Toraja coffee comes from ancient coffee trees and was first grown by just ten families from the Toraja tribe. These former head-hunters are famous for their woodcarvings. That’s why the coffee they produce is delivered in specially carved, hand-painted wooden barrels.

Among the rare coffees, what’s known as "civet coffee", Kopi Luwak, is probably the most famous. This Indonesian coffee has a marten-like animal called a civet to thank for its existence. The civets eat the ripe coffee cherries and excrete the seeds. The coffee seeds undergo a special fermentation process inside the animals' gastrointestinal tract. Fortunately, the civets deposit the undigested pips in tidy little heaps, which people then gather and clean.

Whether birds in Brazil or bats in the Caribbean – the coffees produced with animal participation are only available in tiny quantities and are of special quality.

As to whether those coffees are worth the price? Feel free to decide for yourself. In our café, we offer an excellent, certified Kopi Luwak coffee from civets kept on Sumatra in manner that is appropriate for their species.

Don’t miss the chance to enjoy one of the world’s rarest coffees!