A few weeks ago I mentioned a rare coffee with a rather unusual method of processing that was available in England from Foxbox. At the time I stated that I would pass on trying it, especially since it is not available (to the best of my knowledge) in the U.S. But what if a similar, and by all accounts, even rarer coffee was not only available in the U.S., but was being prepared by a roaster I know and trust right here in my own backyard?
I am not exactly a coffee snob, but I do love good coffees. Each place we have moved to, Tammy and I immediately seek out the local coffee shops that also sell beans, hopefully that they have roasted themselves. I first discovered Seaport Coffee Roasters, run by Joe Pangelinan and his family, when we first moved up here in mid May. His store is right down the road from the extended-stay hotel we used for 2 months while finding a permanent place to settle. I was not aware that he had in fact just opened for business the previous month.
This past Thursday Mystic’s local weekly newspaper, The Mystic River Press, ran an article in it’s “Currents” section about Seaport Coffee Roasters and Joe, particularly that he has obtained a unique and rare coffee known as Kopi Luwak. The article also had a good bit of background information about the store, it’s owner and the origins of Kopi Luwak. After reading the article I set out to see if they had an online presence to link to. The paper’s office is right next door to where I live, literally across a shared driveway from my front door, so failing to find an online presence, I went over and got permission from the author of the article and the editor to post it here.
I am now in the position where I feel I have to try this coffee, and I must admit that the opportunity is very intriguing, especially as I love full bodied brews. Joe is also a very good roaster and has always had an excellent recommendation ready for me when I wanted to try a different blend. So Monday morning I will make my way down to Seaport Coffee Roasters and try a cup of Kopi Luwak. Tammy has expressed an interest in trying it as well. We will let you know what we think.
Before I get to the article, let me say thank you to the staff at Mystic River Press for their permission to reprint the article and to use their picture, especially to reporter / photographer Phoebe Hall, who took the picture of the beans you see here and wrote the article. All copyright to the following and the image of the beans is owned by Mystic River Press and Phoebe Hall. I am reprinting it here intact, but I have added one hyperlink to a report cited in the article. I have not changed the wording, only linked to the actual report from the source online. Any typo’s or misspellings are purely my own, introduced in my transcription of the article. (I really need to bring the scanner online again)Following the article are a few more links of possible interest about Kopi Luwak and the Vietnamese weasel coffee I originally ran across.
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