Coffee is truly one of life’s greatest elixirs with a history as rich and intoxicating as its aroma. It’s discovery is attributed to a young Arab goat herder in 870AD, who noticed that his goats became frisky after eating coffee berries, so he had a few himself and became rather frisky as well. Monks gained divine inspiration after chewing the berries, the Dervishes got whirling and soon people were gathering in coffee houses all over Arabia, gossiping and talking politics. Sultan Amurat III, felt that there was so much gossip about the manner of his accession (by murdering all of his brothers) that he closed down the coffeehouses and had the proprietors tortured. By the 1600’s coffee had crossed the sea and arrived in Europe where it was labeled ‘the brew of the devil’ by the Catholic Church, but when the Pope tasted his first cup he was totally seduced and declared it a truly Christian beverage. The Dutch brought coffee plants to Indonesia in the late 1600’s and found that the trees thrived in the rich volcanic soil and Indonesia is now the fourth biggest producer of coffee in the world.
The coffee bean has come a long way, and in ways that no one would have expected – quite literally. Who would have thought that the world’s most expensive and quite possibly best tasting coffee is produced from beans excreted by a wild animal that roams the forests of Indonesia.
I have been hearing a lot about this unique coffee, which is claimed to be the rarest beverage in the world, and, being a coffee lover and an inquisitive journalist I set out to discover the story of Kopi Luwak. My mission leads me to Kopi Bali House and a meeting with Wirawan Tjahjadi, the charismatic and energetic owner, a true coffee connoisseur fuelled by eight cups a day, and a relentless passion for, and dedication to the art of coffee. From the moment I enter the building I am drawn into the magical world of coffee; antique grinders adorn the walls, fine blends from all over the islands are on offer, coffee candles and perfume are on sale and half of the building is dedicated to a coffee gallery where I find evocative coffee-themed art, much of which is painted with roasted coffee by esteemed artist Rudy Sri Handoko.
The Tjahjadi family have been producing Bali’s finest coffee (The Butterfly Globe brand,) for three generations. Wirawan tells me that Balinese coffee has not always enjoyed the best of reputations and he opened the coffee house to “Showcase Kopi Bali,” and to give people the chance to “taste the legend.” He is anxious for me try Kopi Luwak and with a touch of ritual, a waitress brings us a pouch of coffee, an espresso pot and a burner. While our coffee is brewing he plonks a stuffed furry animal in front of me, this is a Luwak (Civet,) he says. He also presents a basket of pale coffee beans and next to that a basket filled with stool-shaped masses dense with fully intact coffee beans. Yes, it is dried poo. Or to be less sensational, I can say that these fine beans have passed through the digestive tract of the Luwak, a member of the mongoose family that lives in the forests of Indonesia. Once collected, the beans are hygienically cleaned and medium roasted. Civets are fussy eaters and only select the choicest of coffee berries and their diet also includes wild fruits and plants, which ferment in their stomach along side the coffee beans. Additionally, enzymes in the civet’s stomach break down the proteins in the coffee berries; specifically those that contribute to coffee’s usually bitter taste. The resulting blend is unique, and bitter free with hints of fruit and tones of vanilla.
Our espresso pot gurgles away and the air is filled with an intoxicating aroma. Wirawan pours two small cups and instructs me to take a spoonful and suck the coffee back. There is an intense explosion of flavour and I feel a tingling at the base of my ears and on my tongue, it is rich full-bodied and beautifully smooth. I add a little sugar and savour each small sip and it seems that I have finally discovered the perfect coffee. Wirawan smiles knowingly, “Its “Good shit !” he says.
I am curious to know who came up with the idea of brewing digested coffee beans, and in a total twist of irony it transpires that the most expensive coffee in the world was discovered by Balinese farmers who were so poor they couldn’t afford to buy coffee and so collected the beans from the excretions.
A few days later I arrive at the Butterfly Globe factory, the smell of fresh roasted coffee assaults me before I even enter the gates. I walk through the collection of neat buildings surrounded by tropical gardens and arrive at the tasting room where Wirawan, his father (Kopi Bali founder,) Djuwito Tjahjadi, and his cousin Vivi Sofia Sari are waiting for me. The room is part kitchen and part showroom with various coffees on display, state of the art coffee machines and a round kitchen table. I soon have three espressos and a cappuccino all made from Kopi Luwak in front of me, and in homage to the great coffee tradition we have a lively and increasingly animated conversation. It is always a pleasure to meet people who are dedicated to and passionate about their life work and the Tjahjadis live, breathe, and obviously drink copious amounts of coffee. They buy beans from all over Indonesia, but each variety will be sampled here in the tasting room and only the best will be accepted. Yes, it is a business, but first and foremost the Tjahjadis, truly appreciate the art of good coffee, Djuwito explains, “We want to make people happy, we want people to really enjoy their coffee.” Wirawan gives me a bag of cheap Kopi Luwak bought from the market, it smells kind of pooey, in contrast I inhale the aroma of their own blend which is pure, strong and slightly earthy, with just a hint of fruitiness. He tells me that many producers of so called Kopi Luwak are just in it for the money, and although you can buy cheap blends, it will usually be mixed with regular coffee, or be the product of caged civets which is much poorer quality because the animals are stressed by confinement and don’t have access to the wild fruits and plants that help contribute to the flavours of the real thing. Wirawan, describes the genuine taste as “Wild and exotic” and says that each blend is unique, depending on the region and what the luwak has been eating, he adds that you can tell a premium Kopi Luwak from the lingering aftertaste. The cups in front of me contain a premium Arabica blend, a Robusta blend and a fresher Arabica blend that needs to be aired for a few days. The first is the best, but I can’t help but drink them all and feel increasingly euphoric. In fact I am totally buzzing, but surprisingly not at all jittery (which would be the usual effect of four strong coffees.) So I have quite a spring in my step as we head off to tour the factory.
Wirawan leads me through the garden, past Robusta and Arabica coffee trees, then into the giant store room where 700 tonnes of coffee are stored in sacks. The beans are dried in the sun, then mature for 6 months in a sack, are sunned again and finally ready for roasting. The roasters are huge, the biggest can roast 250kg every 15 minutes, from there the beans are sorted by hand, then ground, or packaged whole. There is Toraja coffee, Sumatran Coffee, Bali Coffee, Organic coffees and also specific blends created for some of the most exclusive resorts on the island. The factory is immaculately clean and the smell of roasting coffee permeates the air. A showroom features Coffee Art, with carvings from the wood of the coffee tree as well as evocative paintings with incredibly rich texture and colour created by painting with roasted coffee on acrylic. Even President Obama is immortalized in coffee.
I also get to meet a pet luwak called Joy, a sweet marsupial like creature with a furry body, long tail and pointed face. She is cute and cuddly and is soon crawling all over me and burrowing into my bag.
Wirawan gives me a bag of Kopi Luwak to take home, its fresh from the roaster, and still warm. I have been drinking it ever since and don’t know how I will ever go back to normal coffee again, but its an expensive addiction.
Kopi Bali House
Jl By Pass Ngurah Rai
+62 361270990
www.kopibali.com
