The Fiery Drink of the Gods
The Fiery Drink of the Gods
For several centuries, coffee production on Bali has been a traditional family business, passed down from generation to generation. The coffee plantations, carefully cultivated on the slopes of Kintamani and other northern regions, adorn the exotic nature of Bali. The ripe red, purple, and yellow coffee cherries add contrast to the jungle surroundings. The tropical climate of the island is perfect for coffee, which was introduced here from South India during the Dutch East India Company era.
Today, Indonesia harvests hundreds of thousands of tons of beans of the beloved fiery drink. On the Island of the Gods, two types of coffee are grown:
Arabica, with lower caffeine content and a mild flavor. The fresh beans have a light dried fruit aroma.
Robusta, with a higher caffeine content, offering a strong, bitter taste.
The plantations resemble a dense tropical forest, where young coffee plants are planted under the shade of stronger, mature trees to protect them from the sun, wind, and other elements. Only the best untreated coffee seeds are planted in the soil, which sprout through the earth within a couple of months, rising toward the sun on thin stems, revealing their first leaves. Coffee cherries are categorized into two types: "male" cherries, which are whole and round, and "female" cherries, which are split into two halves. All the berries are handpicked from the trees, and the secrets of cultivation, harvesting, and roasting are passed down from parents to children. Each tree yields no more than 5 kg of cherries per year, equating to about 1 kg of finished beans. The cherries ripen at different times, so while some fruits are still green, others are ready for harvest and processing. Work on the plantations never stops.
Coffee Processing Methods
The traditional method of processing involves cleaning the coffee cherries from their skins. First, the cherries are placed in water, causing the beans inside to swell and rupture the outer shell. Afterward, the skin is separated in special drums, followed by drying in the sun and removing the pulp. Finally, the beans are roasted over fire and ground manually or with machines.
A non-traditional processing method is the Luwak coffee, where Balinese civets (mangosts or palm civets) play a role. These palm civets would often sneak onto the coffee plantations to feast on the ripest and most delicious coffee cherries, stealing them from the farmers. It’s unclear how or who first thought to try the beans that passed through the civet’s digestive system, but the fact remains that this method produces a unique coffee. Initially, this type of coffee was cheap and consumed by the poor, but now it is one of the most expensive coffees in the world.
Why is Luwak Coffee so Expensive?
The civet always selects the ripest and tastiest cherries. During digestion in its gastrointestinal tract, the coffee cherry's skin and pulp dissolve, and the beans emerge purified with minimal protein content. Since protein tends to cause bitterness in coffee, the beans fermented this way have a soft, less bitter flavor.
After the beans have “seen the light” again, they are dried in the sun, thoroughly washed, dried again, and then evenly roasted over fire. Civets live both in the wild and on plantations owned by farmers. Each animal can consume up to 1 kg of cherries per day, which results in only about 50 grams of beans. These animals are active mostly at night, making it rare to spot them on the plantations during the day.
Regardless of the type of coffee you choose to try, whether traditionally processed or using civets, the Balinese fiery drink will leave an impression, just like the island itself. It’s worth taking some back with you to the mainland so that, in the morning, you can inhale the aroma of your cup of coffee and be transported back to Bali.
