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FOOD & TRAVEL: BALI
Strange brew
By PHOOWADON DUANGMEE
THE NATION
Bali, Indonesia


Bill, the coffee enthusiast, takes a thoughtful look at the column of coffee Luwak before taking a sip.
The Dutch might have introduced coffee beans to Indonesia, but the local wild cat adds its own ingredient for a unique cup of joe
If nature is a huge restaurant, then Bali in Indonesia must surely be one of its biggest helpings. Tucked away at the side of each wooden house are vegetable gardens that dazzle with banana, papaya, nutmeg and all sorts of spices, their flowers ablaze with white, yellow and red blooms. The Balinese eat their greens, and they welcome visitors, many of who have probably had their fill of mask dances, art galleries and Hindu temples.


On our latest trip to Bali, we stop over at one Balinese garden halfway between Ubud and Kota, as a fellow traveller wants to buy vanilla and saffron for his restaurant in Hua Hin. The detour turns out to be far more exciting than finding fragrant pods of vanilla on the cheap, as we're offered what few men over 30 can refuse.


"It's coffee Luwak, a Balinese Viagra," whispers a local, showing us dried clusters of coffee beans in very obvious columns of animal dung. "A cup of coffee Luwak every morning means a big boost of virility. You'll make your wife happy."


To me, this sounds like tourist spiel. When you're getting old (or look as though you are), you're a perfect target for a Viagra scam no matter where you are. But the promises of the Balinese coffee grower do sound intriguing.


Bill and Tei, my travel companions, listen to the recommendations for "kopi Luwak", as it's called, though at 20something, they don't need the help of aphrodisiacs.


Coffee Luwak is a rare and unusual delicacy, collected from the dung of the civet - a wild cat that lives all over Bali and in other parts of Indonesia. The cats are "coffee snobs", eating only the juiciest coffee cherries the ripe, red berries that are considered the best for brewing. The civets, however, can't digest the coffee berries entirely, so they get rid off them through their digestive system.


"We collect the coffee beans from the ground, wash away the waste and roast them," says the Balinese farmer.


"How many civets work for you in the farm?" asks Tei.


"Oh, quite a few," comes the reply.


A stone's throw away from the small Balinese farmhouse are large plantations, spread out over the island's pristine valleys and terraces. I try to visualise the wild cats hard at work in the foliage earning money for Balinese coffee barons. We check around the farmhouse, and find one bored-looking civet. It seems far more interested in having an afternoon nap than having his photograph taken by the tourists hovering around its cage.


"Coffee Luwak is a treasure," says the Balinese farmer, pressing the buttons on the espresso machine. "It has a vital element. The digestion and fermentation gives a unique aroma."


Bill takes a serious look at the brownish column of civet dung, and puts on a brave face before asking us to snap a photo. He's the first to take a sip of coffee Luwak - after all he coughed up the US$10. Tei and I take turns.


"How is it?" asks Greg, a Frenchman, who seems eager to know but afraid to try.


"Full body. Stuffed with weight and with a slight edge. Strange aroma, though," I purr, using my best coffee connoisseur's lingo.


So, what about the Viagra response? Ha! Somehow, I think we are looking at the wrong animal for a virility boost. Most cats spend 13 to 18 hours a day sleeping - and the civet is no exception. You probably have to wait for a day or longer for the cat magic to kick in.