On April 10 there was a story in the media about Peter Jones, the London Department Store, selling Cat Poo Coffee for £50 a cup. My first reaction was disgust, closely followed by incredulity. Why would anyone want to pay £50 ($100) for a cup of coffee made from cat poo? I thought that it was probably an April Fool joke that's still doing the rounds, but I'm now convinced the story is real.
The Peter Jones website actually contains an announcement about the coffee, and how it came to be created. DeLonghi asked David Cooper, Managing Director of Coopers Coffee and World Barista Championship Judge, to make the world's rarest blend of coffee so exclusive and expensive that it couldn't be outdone. He came up with a blend of Indonesian Kopi Luwak and Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, and so Caffé Raro was born.
Kopi Luwak is the rarest with only about 300 kilos available in the world. The coffee cherry is eaten by the Indonesian Palm Civet Cat, the fruit is digested and the coffee bean is excreted in its feces a few days later. This is then collected, cleaned and dried.
Jamaican Blue Mountain is one of the most expensive and sought after coffees in the world, and is noted for its mild flavour.
According to the Daily Telegraph, proceeds from sales of Caffé Raro coffee, available till the end of the month, will go to Macmillan Cancer Research.
A barista is the coffee equivalent of a sommelier, and is someone who has acquired expertise in the preparation of espresso based coffee drinks.
If you'd like to try this coffee but can't get to Peter Jones, or stretch to £50 per cup, you could buy a bag each of Kopi Luwak and Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee on eBay, and have a go at blending your own.
