# Expensive 'ass' coffee **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357 "2003-11-20T20:03:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bat\_attack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@bat\_attack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bat_attack)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/1 "2003-11-20T20:03:49Z")
I’ve been thinking about getting my girlfriend some of that Kopi Luwak coffee that I first heard about right hear at [straightdope.com](http://straightdope.com). The only place I can find it is on [ravensbrew.com](http://ravensbrew.com) and they’re asking $75 for 1/4 of a pound. Does anyone else know where I might score some of this stuff for a slightly less insane price? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/2 "2003-11-20T20:20:29Z")
In an effort to find out just what in the heck ass coffee is, from [here](http://coffeetea.about.com/cs/kindsofcoffee/a/aakopiluwak.htm) comes: > [@](#): > > Kopi Luwak coffee comes from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an area well-known for its excellent coffee. Also native to the area is a small civit-like animal called a Paradoxurus. That’s the scientific name, the locals call them luwaks. These little mammals live in the trees and one of their favorite foods is the red, ripe coffee cherry. \ > They eat the cherries, bean and all. While the bean is in the little guy’s stomach, it undergoes chemical treatments and fermentations. The bean finishes its journey through the digestive system, and exits. The still-intact beans are collected from the forest floor, and are cleaned, then roasted and ground just like any other coffee. > The resulting coffee is said to be like no other. It has a rich, heavy flavour with hints of caramel or chocolate. I’m guessing heavy on the chocolate. > [@](#): > > Because of the rarity of this coffee, the price is quite outrageous. If you can find a vendor, the current cost for a pound of Kopi Luwak is around $300 or more. Some more adventurous coffee houses are selling it by the cup, but you won’t likely find it at your local Starbucks just yet. \*\*The coffee isn’t so spectacular that it’s truly worth that amount of money. You are paying for the experience of enjoying such an unusual and rare delicacy. \*\* Bolding mine. Sounds like it’ll be pricey regardless of where you go. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/3 "2003-11-20T20:25:57Z")
I can sell you some Kopi _ **B** _wak for half that. Paypal OK? 🙂 Seriously, though, IIRC that’s actually a pretty reasonable price, considering the availability. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/4 "2003-11-20T20:27:41Z")
That’s apparently passe now. A discussion on another board points out that the NEW thing is coffee beans puked up by weasels instead of shat out by civets: > **[FIREBOX® | Shop For The Unusual](https://firebox.com/index.html?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=616&showAllImages=0)** > > Shop unusual presents and gift ideas with our curated range of personalised gifts, presents for the home, tech and gadget gifts, and more! The only germ of reasonability here is that some gourmet coffee vendors have been treating beans with a hydrochloric acid bath for years to obtain a “mellowing” effect. Running them through the digestive system of an animal is a more novel way to achieve the same effect. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/5 "2003-11-20T20:38:02Z")
What’s next… bat shit coffee? You’d have to be crazy. ---
**Author:** ![xicanorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a88e57/32.png) [@xicanorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xicanorex)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/6 "2003-11-20T20:58:47Z")
> [@](#): > > **The resulting coffee is said to be like no other. It has a rich, heavy flavour with hints of caramel or chocolate.** :dubious: Now, hold on, hold on, unless that [luwak](http://www.ravensbrew.com/media/peridoxurus.jpg) has eaten a caramel or chocolate, ya ain’t tasting any hint of caramel or chocolate. :eek: xicanorex ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/7 "2003-11-20T22:01:21Z")
Sounds like a shitty deal to me… ---
**Author:** ![Phage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a4c791/32.png) [@Phage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phage)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/8 "2003-11-21T06:13:42Z")
Some interesting info on Luwak’s sister product Powak: [Warning, PDF file.](http://people.clemson.edu/~carrol4/powak(letter).pdf) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/9 "2003-11-21T06:44:05Z")
Just get her some Blue Mountain. Any coffee afficianado would appreciate that. ---
**Author:** ![Bromley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@Bromley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bromley)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/10 "2003-11-21T06:51:17Z")
I’m not surprised that people drink it now. As with everything like this though, you have to wonder about the sanity of the trailbreaker :eek: . **Phage’s** link is great. I still can’t be sure whether it’s a joke or not but it had me in stitches. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/11 "2003-11-21T09:13:01Z")
Before you start bargain shopping for this, remember that buying something of this nature requires a heavy dose of caution. Having found this out long ago from buying Cuban cigars, counterfeits for these types of products can be rampant, especially as the price get insanely high. If you purchased Kopi Luwak coffee from someplace on the Internet, how exactly are you going to be sure it’s not Maxwell House? Then again, if you can find a container for the Kopi Luwak coffee, you can fill it with any kind of coffee and tell her how expensive it was but you think she is worth it because you love her so much. Thinking about it, I’ll get my wife a couple pounds of ass coffee for xmas. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/12 "2003-11-21T09:21:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bromley \* > \*\ ***Phage’s** link is great. I still can’t be sure whether it’s a joke or not but it had me in stitches. \*\* For some reason, I particularly liked the reference to “range possums.” It produces a wonderful vision of herds of possums, running wild and free over the rolling plains of, say, eastern Montana. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/13 "2003-11-21T10:45:23Z")
See, I think throwing expensive gifts at your girlfriend might negate the thought and trouble that you should put into a special gift. I think maybe you should go to a bit more effort: “Darling I love you so much that I ate and shat the beans myself.” ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/14 "2003-11-21T10:52:53Z")
Hey, for $50 I can get you some Tikwak. I’ll do the processing myself… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/15 "2003-11-22T00:37:05Z")
With a title like that, you just know lieu is gonna have something to do with this thread . . . ---
**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/16 "2003-11-22T05:01:24Z")
You mean like “Kopi Lieu-wak”? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/expensive-ass-coffee/214357/17 "2003-11-22T05:26:54Z")
[quote] If you purchased Kopi Luwak coffee from someplace on the Internet, how exactly are you going to be sure it’s not Maxwell House? [quote] If I ever have to drink a cup of Kopi Luwak coffee, I’m going to be praying it’s really Maxwell House.