One of the best coffees in the world is found in Vietnam but the story behind its “production” is not for the feint of heart.
Wild weasels run around the coffee plantations, eat the best and ripest coffee cherries and then after some time, leave their droppings around with the coffee beans relatively undigested and intact. However, the enzymatic process that happens inside their stomachs give the undigested coffee beans a rather earthy, chocolaty flavor when roasted and ground. This unique, distinctive taste is priced by coffee connoisseur who pay heavily for this special type of coffee. With only around 700 kg of weasel coffee harvested per year in Indonesia and Vietnam, not only does it command a premium price, it also becomes a symbol of stature and power. In fact, the weasel coffee is commonly given as a token to visiting heads o states and dignitaries visiting Vietnam.
The Civet
Most types of weasels found in Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and China are meat-eaters. However, one type of civet in Buon Ma Thuot Province in Vietnam only eats fruits, with ripe coffee cherries as its staple. Being a nocturnal animal, it only feeds from 10pm to midnight, gnawing on the thin outer skin of the cherries then swallowing it whole.
Love of cherries
According to the research done by Professor Massimo Marcone at the University of Guelph in Canada, during the weasel’s digestive process, enzymes pass through the bean’s pectin layer and penetrate inside the bean, changing the protein and molecular structure, adding sugars as well as creating smaller molecules. This cause the delightful taste and distinctive aroma of weasel coffee.
Although there are tons of raw coffee harvested yearly, only around 700 kilograms of weasel coffee beans are harvested annually. From 1 kilogram of weasel coffee bean, only 300 grams of weasel coffee is produced.
King of coffee
Buon Ma Thuot in Vietnam is one of the only two coffee-growing regions in the world where authentic civet coffee is produced. Weasel coffee from this region has an excellent chocolaty taste and distinctive aroma that is markedly different from those produced in other areas. This is partly due to the non-meat diet of the weasels and partly due to the topography of the area, with its basaltic soil and mineral-rich Dray Sap waterfalls making the area more fertile. All of these factors make Buon Ma Thuot’s weasel coffee the King of Coffee, truly superior in taste and flavor.
Trung Nguyen’s Weasel Coffee is 100% made from Buon Ma Thuot’s weasel coffee beans. It is prepared following a detailed process to preserve the integrity of the weasel coffee beans and bring out its unique flavor and aroma, giving anyone privileged enough to drink it a truly magical experience!
Trung Nguyen’s Weasel Coffee is truly a national treasure. A great source of pride among Vietnamese, it is given as a token to visiting diplomats and foreign leaders.
By Heritage
