worlds most expensive coffee
Kopi luwak comes from the Indonesian words for coffee and civet. A civet is a cat-like creature who slinks around eating sweet red coffee cherries in Indonesia. Finicky like a cat, they only eat the best of the harvest, chewing off the exterior and swallowing the hard inner core of the bean. Once digested, the beans emerge in the usual way – amid the animal’s dung. The trip through the digestive system has removed the harshness and most of the caffeine and the result is a mellow coffee bean that sells for as much as $600 a pound. Once you separate it from the dung, of course.
One pound of civet droppings will produce less than 5 ounces of beans – and roasting reduces the quantity even more. Only 500 to 1,000 pounds hit the global market each year, which explains the extremely high price of this coffee. Left unanswered, however, is just whose idea it was to pick through civet dung in the first place. source.
| 
| 
Related Reading:
Scharffen Berger Chocolate Bar, Markham Valley Semi-Sweet (68% Cacao), 3-Ounce Bars (Pack of 6)Scharffen Berger's Chocolate Maker's Series - While searching the globe for the finest cacao, occasionally we find a limited supply of exceptional single-origin beans that deserve to be savored on their own. We bring this taste experience to you through our Chocolate Maker's Series limited edition chocolate bars. This edition of our Chocolate Maker's Series was created EXCLUSIVELY for Amazon.com
The Indonesia Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The World Readers)Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago, encompassing nearly eighteen thousand islands. The fourth-most populous nation in the world, it has a larger Muslim population than any other. The Indonesia Reader is a unique introduction to this extraordinary country. Assembled for the traveler, student, and expert alike, the Reader includes more than 150 selections: journalists’ articles, explorers’ chronicles, photographs, poetry, stories, cartoons, drawings, letters, speeches, and more. Many pieces are by Indonesians; some are translated into English for the first time. All have introductions by the volume’s editors. Well-known figures such as Indonesia’s acclaimed novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer and the American anthropologist Clifford Geertz are featured alongside other artists and scholars, as well as politicians, revolutionaries, colonists, scientists, and activists.Organized chronologically, the volume addresses early Indonesian civilizations; contact with traders from India, China, and the Arab Middle East; and the European colonization of Indonesia, which culminated in centuries of Dutch rule. Selections offer insight into Japan’s occupation (1942–45), the establishment of an independent Indonesia, and the post-independence era, from Sukarno’s presidency (1945–67), through Suharto’s dictatorial regime (1967–98), to the present Reformasi period. Themes of resistance and activism recur: in a book excerpt decrying the exploitation of Java’s natural wealth by the Dutch; in the writing of Raden Ajeng Kartini (1879–1904), a Javanese princess considered the icon of Indonesian feminism; in a 1978 statement from East Timor objecting to annexation by Indonesia; and in an essay by the founder of Indonesia’s first gay activist group. From fifth-century Sanskrit inscriptions in stone to selections related to the 2002 Bali bombings and the 2004 tsunami, The Indonesia Reader conveys the long history and the cultural, ethnic, and ecological diversity of this far-flung archipelago nation.
The World's Most Beautiful Seashells (Worlds Most Series)The World's Most Beautiful Seashells won the Coffee Table Book Award of the National Association of Independent Publishers for 1996. It contains 305 large format, full color photographs of rare and lovely seashells. The photographer is James H. (Pete) Carmichael, whose nature photography has appeared widely in magazines such as Audobon, National Wildlife, Ranger Rick, etc. Pete is especially well-known for his work with shells, butterflies, and rainforests. The text is by Leonard Hill, a lifetime shell enthusiast, and a biologist employed by the US government who monitors the health of the oceans. At $32.95 in hardcover, the book has been considered an excellent value, and makes a great acquisition to the library of shell and nature enthusiasts.
Starbucks Pike Place Roast Coffee, Ground, (Medium) 12-Ounce Bags (Pack of 2)Legendary Starbucks flavor
