4 ms·

One hypothesis: what if (genuine) civet coffee is so good, because the civets' nose smells out the very best coffee cherries, and only eats the best? Therefore,

by manarth 13y ago

One hypothesis: what if (genuine) civet coffee is so good, because the civets' nose smells out the very best coffee cherries, and only eats the best? Therefore, if it's crapped out the arse of a civet, it was a very good bean. Given that many animals have a superior sense of smell to humans, this hypothesis seems reasonable - civets could smell out the best coffee, and given the choice, who wouldn't want to eat the best? If this is the case, then the whole mass-production/feeding-civits-in-cages is absolutely pointless, because it does away with the civets' selection process. Which might explain why some people describe their purchase as watery and bland.

_delirium 13y ago
That's definitely one of the arguments used in the marketing material. If the coffee being sold is not in fact from wild civets that can choose the berries, that sounds like it should be considered false advertising.
stevewillows 13y ago
As with truffles, could we not just train a dog to find these choice cherries and place them in a bin?
agilord 13y ago
> "Which might explain why some people describe their purchase as watery and bland." This is true. The other part of the explanation is that many people just don't appreciate the coffee that is anything different than what they are used too. Just watch someone from the US in Europe drinking an espresso, or the other way around. People have different opinions based on their personal habits, and saying it is "watered down" should mean nothing without context and references.
- sliverstorm 13y ago
  Hah, that makes sense. Of course it tastes bland, when you normally drink coffee with six cubes of sugar.
- crdoconnor 13y ago
  I don't think that's it. I drank a cup of civet coffee in bali which was watery and bland. I also bought beans from a producer in medan who went on a lot about the scam that is most wild civet coffee. That one was rich and chocolatey.

by manarth 13y ago

_delirium 13y ago

That's definitely one of the arguments used in the marketing material. If the coffee being sold is not in fact from wild civets that can choose the berries, that sounds like it should be considered false advertising.

stevewillows 13y ago

As with truffles, could we not just train a dog to find these choice cherries and place them in a bin?

agilord 13y ago

> "Which might explain why some people describe their purchase as watery and bland." This is true. The other part of the explanation is that many people just don't appreciate the coffee that is anything different than what they are used too. Just watch someone from the US in Europe drinking an espresso, or the other way around. People have different opinions based on their personal habits, and saying it is "watered down" should mean nothing without context and references.

sliverstorm 13y ago
Hah, that makes sense. Of course it tastes bland, when you normally drink coffee with six cubes of sugar.
crdoconnor 13y ago
I don't think that's it. I drank a cup of civet coffee in bali which was watery and bland. I also bought beans from a producer in medan who went on a lot about the scam that is most wild civet coffee. That one was rich and chocolatey.