INDONESIA - DAY TWO
BOROBUDUR TO PANGKALAN BUN
Dragon - at least that’s what I think it is.
It has to be good luck!
MAY 17, 2024
Our favorite breakfast so far!
After our delicious breakfast, we quickly walked through a typical Indonesian market in Borobudur.
The most EXPENSIVE coffee in the world….
Luwak coffee comes from the Indonesian island of Java and Sumatra, an area well-known for its excellent coffee. Also native to the area is a small civet-like animal called a Paradoxurus. That’s the scientific name, the locals call them luwaks. These little mammals live in the trees and one of their favorite foods is the red, ripe coffee cherry.
They eat the cherries, bean and all. While the bean is in the little animal’s stomach, it undergoes chemical treatments and fermentations. The bean finishes its journey through the digestive system, and exits. The still-intact beans are collected from the forest floor, and are cleaned, then roasted and ground just like any other coffee. Because of strange method of collecting, there is not much Kopi Luwak produced in the world. The resulting coffee is said to be like no other. It is rich, heavy flavor with hints of caramel or chocolate. Other terms used to describe it as earthy, musty and exotic. The body is almost syrupy and it is very smooth.
SOURCE: www.kopiluwak.org
We visited a small scale operation - the Pawon Luwak Coffee co. and were able to see a luwak up close. Far from its natural habitat, but fascinating and rather cute in a badger - raccoon kinda way. Having recently learned about this coffee in the last year, I was curious to both see the animal and of course try the coffee. It is the most expensive coffee after all and well…..my parents could agree on one thing and one thing only - I have expensive taste. It lived up to the hype. It was smooth and balanced, no need for cream or sugar.
Mendut
On our way out of town, we stopped to see another temple. It is common for locals to buy old German cars to transport groups of tourists around.
Next we head to Jenderal Ahmad Yani International Airport to get an a flight to Borneo, the world’s 3rd largest island and one that is occupied by three countries: Kalimantan is Indonesia’s territory, Brunei is it’s own country and Malaysia occupies the third part. This is where orangutans live (and Sumatra) in the wild and as a protected species thanks to the work of Louis Leakey whose work studying primates in their natural habitats aided famous female scholars in their field of study. Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas.
More on all of this in May 18th’s blog post!
