The travel blog Jaunted.com has a Kopi Luwak feature running today, as part of their “What Everyone’s Buying” series on tourist trinkets and souvenirs. The article recycles some of the same old hoary cliches on civet poo coffee – it appears they haven’t read HuffPost’s takedown on the subject – but they do have some interesting details on just how much this stuff goes for in Bali:
We made the mistake of paying a premium on a cup of Kopi Luwak on our second day in Bali, ordering it poolside at the W Hotel Seminyak. For that, it was nearly $13; a bummer, considering we later found individual serving packets and whole bags of it in markets and grocery stores from the equivalent of only $1.50.
Our individual packs of Kopi Luwak grounds were fine, coming back into the US, and we drink one as we write this. That said, our Australian friend didn’t fare as well; his packets were confiscated at quarantine on the way back into Australia. Apparently the customs officers even specifically asked if he had Kopi Luwak, seeing as he had flown in from Indonesia, and Australia puts far stricter regulations on such items.
Three cheers to Australia for restricting this stuff from coming in across their borders. Here’s some more photos of Kopi Luwak packaging from Jaunted, now available in powder form for arabica AND robusta!
Read the whole thing here on Jaunted.com. For our thoughts on this complicated, largely unfortunate subsection of the coffee world, please see here.
