We Drank The Worlds Best Coffee On Organic Bali Farm

“Yah, you have to try it..its shit coffee!” he laughed a loud laugh, claiming it was famous.  Apparently a native to Bali jungle cat eats the coffee beans… and out of this materializes the best, most sought after cup of coffee ever made. It is rumored to go for nearly 50 dollars a cup in Australia.

THE STORY

He was a quiet citizen of Singapore making his way from LA back to home. The perfect kind of seat partner you hope to be squished next to on an 18 hour flight. Soft spoken and striking a conversation only after we were nearly there (my kind of seat buddy), he informed us of a few secrets when it came to the Indonesian Island of Bali.

The coffee is named after the small cat found in the jungles of the island, the Luwak. And yes it is a from coffee beans that have already been passed through the bowels of the animal….It is Luwak Coffee.

OUR STORY

We found ours while taking a tour of a local working farm in the jungles of Ubud. Ubud is north of the airport and thought of as the cultural epicenter of Bali. The organic coffee plantation specializes in the harvesting of Luwak Coffee, as well as growing varieties of many other plants. Our guide was 22 and full of charisma. As he walked us through the different types of growing plants, he spoke of his dream.

He has the name he is given because his village names their children according to their birth order. Like others on the island he wants to work on a cruise ship one day. For the majority of the young locals- this is the only ticket they will find that could give them a shot of getting off of the island. Most spend their lives studying “hospitality” to land jobs as guides, and for many, working in some of the resorts near by is their definition of making it big.

We spent time walking through rich green entanglments of cocoa trees, ginger plants, banana and coconut trees, and several other organic and locally grown spices and fruits. We touched Yam plants, learned of the varying colors of beans and roots, and listened in awe as a different story rooted in a different way of living was shared with the two of us; two people who’s farms back home looked worlds apart from the oasis of produce that seemed to be thriving in the chaos of the jungle.

The Luwaks were small and sleeping sound. Nocturnal, they stayed put as we watched. The Luwaks are said to have a knack for sniffing out only the best coffee beans a plant has to offer. The animal eats the beans and once nature has taken its course the workers  collect the beans, and then wash and grind them using original and more primal techniques than what we are used to seeing in America.

The kitchen the coffee is produced in is just a simple crumbling hut in the midst of the jungle vegetation. There are old handmade steel pots and pans, and coffee beans are roasted over the open flame. It was as if we had stepped back in time.

We reached a grass thatched hut where we were treated to an array of different flavors of home grown teas, cocoas, and of course, coffees. All accompanied by spices and sugars and flavors, all of it hand grown and hand harvested from the jungle floor beneath my Birkenstocks.

We were brought a small cup that adorned the small painting of a Luwak, next to it lie a fresh cinnamon stick. The simplest, most perfect detail.  It was what we had been waiting for, the “shit coffee”. Following our instructions we compared tastes of the normal coffee to that of the cup of what was presumed to be the best coffee we had ever touched.

THE COFFEE

I shit you not, (all pun intended), it was the very best cup of coffee either of us have ever had. It was smooth, less bitter, and somewhat smoky. But it was un explainably pure coffee. It was a dark with a gorgeous smell. We sipped on and learned that most if not all of the coffee in Bali is harvested and produced so pure that there is no need to use filters. The coffee beans and tea leaves are served ground and can be mixed right into water. It is heavenly.

We couldn’t help but laugh our way through the rest of the tour. Amazed at the hard work and the slow and simple methods our island friends used to make it in their everyday lives. To outsiders it looks like a hard life, to experience and learn of it felt like peace.

THE TAKE-AWAY

Our hours on the farm inadvertatdy ended with the biggest spider we had ever seen in our lives! Tricked by our guide to look into the trees we nearly ran as he told us of childhood stories where he played with the monster spiders for fun. Not our thing but apparently the farmers like them, and they are not poisonous. Just hold onto your small children if planning a hike through the Balinese jungle. HA

We bought a small thing of lemon grass tea and thanked our wonderful hosts. Laughing at our love for Luwak Coffee the whole way back. We still drink our tea on occasion here at the house, and somehow it manages to instantly take us back. Back to a jungle filled with good people, and a way of living that  has prevailed for centuries and produced a happiness and peace known and untouched by many.