Backpacking Philippines: Exotic Kape Alamid (Kopi Luwak), Anyone?

Exotic Kape Alamid (Kopi Luwak), Anyone?

For eons now, Tutubi has been yearning to again sample the famous kape alamid raved about by mainstream media until an accidental meet up with friends at Kape Kesada during Holy Week when Kape Kesada's affable owner suggested sampling his new offering: the exotic kape alamid.

After brewing the gourmet coffee, Tutubi egged the others unfamiliar to kape alamid to sample the coffee first, comment on the taste, before divulging the process on how kape alamid is prepared (since it's not really for the faint of heart)

Tutubi's friends enjoying kape alamid brewed at Kape Kesada

Kape Alamid, called Kopi Luwak in Indonesia and weasel coffee in Vietnam, came from the ripest coffee berries that were ingested, processed and later defecated by the civet cat locally known as Alamid (Paradoxurus philippinensis).

After tasting the aromatic taste of the coffee brew, without the bitter taste, and the aroma lingers in your throat, several of the "beta testers" opted not to drink again the gourmet coffee blend after hearing how it's made.

Don't worry, kopi luwak undergoes sterilization process to get rid of viruses, bacteria, molds and mildews before packaging so it's safe and clean. It's only your mind subverting you not to ingest the unique aromatic taste of the exotic kopi luwak.

Tutubi's verdict: kopi luwak doesn't have that bitter aftertaste of most coffee blends since the biterness has been taken away during "processing" inside the civet cat's stomach leaving with you the goodness (no idea yet on caffeine content). For the penny-pinching Tutubi, kopi luwak is expensive, and not for everyday consumption unless you have money to burn.

Where to buy Kape Alamid/Kopi Luwak/Civet Coffee/Weasel Coffee in Manila?

Tutubi saw some Kape Alamid on sale at Tiendesitas in Pasig City (it's not easy to commute there but it's a taxi ride from MRT Ortigas station. Be prepared to wait for your return ride also since it seems only people with private cars frequent the place) near C5. The only option for commuting there is to go to Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan and ride the free shuttle going to Tiendesitas (Greenhills and Tiendesitas' owners are the same). You won't find this in Starbucks (that overpriced coffee patronized by Filipinos), UCC (über-costly coffee), Mocha Blends, Coffee Bean, Gloria Jeans, Figaro, Filibeans Tagaytay and other coffee shops mushrooming in the Philippines.

How much does kopi luwak/kape alamid cost?
Price is about PhP500 ($12.50) for 50 grams or about PhP10,000/kilo so it's really the most expensive coffee in the world!

Note: Kopi Muncak (also Kopi Muntjak) is a similar type of coffee produced from the feces of the muntjac (barking deer)

Labels: Exotic Food

posted by GingGoy @ 11:06 PM,

28 Comments:

At Apr 5, 2008, 3:11:00 PM, Anonymous said...: At first when I saw your title I thought you were talking about the band Alamid and was wondering what relation does it have w/coffee. Mwehehe! Oo nga, I've heard about this exotic coffee before and I'm dying to try it. Usually, it's called the Vietnamese coffee too and I've seen a documentary of how the coffee berries were "harvested".
At Apr 5, 2008, 5:44:00 PM, GingGoy said...: so you know Alamid band, eh? we were joking about it at first. what song do you like from them, "your love?" :P
At Apr 5, 2008, 8:55:00 PM, pieterbie said...: I have never drank kopi luwak, but as a lover of good coffee I would love to try it.
I'll have to see if I can get hold of some of it over here or go and taste it in some coffee house.
At Apr 6, 2008, 1:26:00 AM, Anonymous said...: wow...gusto ko yan, pero ang tubig na gagamitin ay itong aking "iwater" meaning intelligent water he he he filtered from any tap water and induced with HADO, the vibrating energy...check my website...thanks tito...uy kita ko ang barkada ah he he he parang gusto ko ng umuwi dyan...

www.myjapin.com/daludzwater

check it out guys...mag uuwi ako nitong filtration system...pakisabi sa pinsan kong si dok nilo na kelangan meron sya nito dyan sa kape kesada...
At Apr 6, 2008, 5:50:00 AM, Gypsy said...: So what is your verdict?? You never really said whether you liked it or not!! :) I'm curious. I am a loyal to Figaro and Monk's Blend from Bukidnon but I am still open to other possibilities. :)
At Apr 6, 2008, 6:04:00 AM, tin-tin said...: after reading how it is made, i really am glad that i don't drink coffee. hehe ;p
At Apr 6, 2008, 9:47:00 AM, Saida said...: I am a coffee drinker. I don't mind if my coffee is from Starbucks, Figaro or just the 3-1 sachet from the neighborhood Sari sari store. As long as it is strong, sweet and creamy, a cup or two is enough to make my day.

But Kopi Luwak or Kape Alamid is different. Aside from the peculiar source, it is reputed to be the most expensive coffee in the world. I guess so because at Tiendesites, a kilo is worth a whopping P10,000!!!

It's hard to describe the taste of Kopi Luwak, it may vary depending on the person drinking it. Though I still prefer the instant 3-1 sachet, the experience of drinking a cup of this shitty brew is something to talk about.

Thanks to Doc Nilo of Kape Kesada and to brothers Tito and Tony Basa for the delicious "maning minanian" ;-) ;-) ;-)

Saida
At Apr 6, 2008, 10:00:00 AM, GingGoy said...: pieterbie, i can send you some if you want but i need to find a supplier. maybe i start to market the coffee online :P

daludz, miracle water ba yan? sige nga pagdating mo

gypsy, ha i edited the post to reflect my comment. Note that I used to be a heavy coffee drinker but I slowed down to the point of almost breaking the habit since the effect of caffeine on my system's making me palpitate. It's good that you love Figaro, suport local coffee industry. I also love Monk's blend. I've been to their monastery in Bukidnon in 2003.

tin-tin, so you won't even try to taste it, some sort of fear factor or extra challenge?
At Apr 6, 2008, 4:09:00 PM, GingGoy said...: saida, you don't need to have kape alamid to have something to talk about. anything will do as conversation starter :P
At Apr 6, 2008, 9:28:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Interesting!! I'm not a coffee drinker though. Nice website. Thanks Tito.
At Apr 7, 2008, 9:57:00 AM, Sidney said...: I will investigate if I can sell the coffee beans in my own sh*t...
I need some money for a new lens! ;-)
At Apr 7, 2008, 10:44:00 AM, tripAventure said...: Nice blogs here.... I'm gonna add ur links to my blogroll... Just buzz me if ok to you.... http://allbestofphilippines.blogspot.com
thanks....
At Apr 7, 2008, 11:58:00 AM, aldrinbee said...: so how much for a cup of kopi luwak at kape kesada?

that coffee is always a feature on different tv magazine shows even here in the philippines. and was also jack nicholson's coffee on the "bucket list" movie. baka kaya ko ring tumikim (if i got the money to spare) ay matikman naman.

by the way, my wife and i are regular visitors of kape kesada for their halo-halo. i bring in even visitors from australia to enjoy the place.
At Apr 7, 2008, 9:30:00 PM, GingGoy said...: sidney, i also thought of the same thing. need mo' money for a new lens too

arjaeuse, thanks for the link. do drop by again

aldrin, no price tag yet for the coffee since doc nilo is not yet sure. he suggested a price to use but we informed him it's too low. don't blame us if you find the price too steep hehe
At Apr 8, 2008, 3:06:00 AM, Tinunuy said...: Ah, so that's how it's processed. I wish I could taste it, too. :)
At Apr 8, 2008, 6:44:00 AM, carlotta1924 said...: my bro told me about kape alamid before. tho his description elicited a violent reaction from me, my curiosity on its taste was piqued. kaso ang mahal nga.

=)
At Apr 8, 2008, 8:49:00 AM, Anonymous said...: Dang, this is truly an exotic coffee and qualifies as extreme cuisine ! :)

I will take the dare and test is it but for the life of me, how in the hell did someone come discover this drink? Did he mistake the cat droppings as coffee beans? hahaha :)
At Apr 8, 2008, 11:43:00 AM, Oman said...: i think i'll pass on this one...im not a fan of coffee anyway... =)

have a nice day!
At Apr 8, 2008, 12:09:00 PM, Anonymous said...: Am really not fan of coffee. But it would be really interesting to get a taste of this one.
At Apr 8, 2008, 11:02:00 PM, GingGoy said...: ethyl alcohol and carlotta, you should try it sometime

bw, we were also theorizing on that. perhaps an enterprising person wanted to sell the beans thinking people won't notice and instead discovered a unique coffee blend or maybe just want to really try to brew it along with the others but by cleaning the coffee beans first. we'll never know

lwastude, try it :P

ferdz, di ka nga rin pala mahilig sa kape pero at least you want to try it. saan ba next travel natin?
At Apr 11, 2008, 6:41:00 AM, Nicely said...: i heard na nakakabili din nitong coffee alamid sa Bag of Beans sa Mendez, Cavite - just along Tagaytay. I'm not sure if until now, they offer the product.
At Apr 11, 2008, 4:10:00 PM, docemdy said...: Did you see The Bucket List? Kopi Luwak was one of the funny things in the film. We were just at the Ark of Abilon last weekend. I dared my coffee loving friend to taste this but even she declined. Ha ha. Chicken, no?
At Apr 13, 2008, 11:58:00 PM, -= dave =- said...: Heard about this before. Not a coffee drinker, but you seem to describe it as tasting the way I want coffee to taste :) I have high tolerance with yucky things so this is not a problem. Now if only there's a free sample somewhere...
At Apr 29, 2008, 9:25:00 PM, rachel said...: Yes, I have bought o 100 grams ground coffee alamid at bag of beans in tagaytay. It costs 750 pesos. I think it is also available at sonia's garden.
At May 8, 2008, 8:01:00 AM, Jetsam said...: You can also get alamid at Marden Cafe along Imus Cavite downtown Nueno Avenue. Comes in 50 grms(P650)/100 grms P1,350. They also serve a cup at P180. Come on over and they will tell you how Kape Alamid came to be.
At Mar 28, 2009, 10:14:00 AM, Anonymous said...: hello everyone, just came across this blog entry. i have yet to try the alamid...but i'm in vietnam so maybe i'll try the WEASEL coffee..same process as how alamid is made.

to all coffee drinkers - personally the best is ca phe sua da (iced coffee with milk) here in vietnam...it's totally dark, rich, syrup-y, and best tasting! :))

i love kapeng barako (batangas), i grew up drinking that. but this ca phe sua da is really from a different level in terms of taste,texture and experience!

enjoy while you wait for it to drip from individual filters, waiting to blend with the sweet milk at the bottom. i hope all you coffee drinkers can try it :))
At May 2, 2012, 9:30:00 AM, Sam Reyes said...: Where can I get the one that's already brewed/ ready-to-drink kape alamid?:))
At Jul 29, 2013, 4:09:00 AM, kopi luwak bandung said...: kopi luwak is safe for your flanks guys, today kopi luwak indonesia is holding the big market for asia. No doubt luwak coffee is still the first level coffee in the world

Exotic Kape Alamid (Kopi Luwak), Anyone?

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