I had the opportunity to try this when I was in Indonesia. The place I was at was a cafe advertising the most expensive coffee in the world, I think it was approximately USD$30 for a cup at the time (almost 10 years ago).
I remember seeing the example cages with civets inside them and a description of how it’s made (plus a conversation with a friend I was travelling with), and decided not to try it.
Do you remember where in Indonesia that was? I visited one near Bandung not realising what this coffee actually was. Bit like you I left without trying or buying. The place was a visitor centre and we weren’t allowed to look at the actual farm.
Well hey, lucky us, we’re about to find out if I’m a lier! I just spent 30+ mins digging through photos. Is this a civet?
It’s not geotagged, it was taken with an average 10 years ago digital camera, but based on the photos taken at the same time, it’s in the general area of Borobudur, but not actually at that temple. My best guess is near Prambanan. Possibly we stopped somewhere on the taxi ride from one to the other.
I don’t think we went to Bandung, or at least I don’t remember stopping there. My memory is fuzzy but I think we drove from Jakarta to Yogyakarta so must have at least passed nearby. The place wasn’t an actual farm though, just a place serving the coffee with an example civet outside.
Blimmin heck! Appreciate the effort in digging that photo up! It doesn’t sound like the same place though.
I’ve done a similar journey in the past and there’s places to stop everywhere. Even in a jungle in north Sulawesi at night, middle of no where, some fella selling durian in a cabin next to a dirt road.
This is covering a few experiences across Indonesia. We stopped at a frozen food shop which had 2 lions in small cages. Stopped at a private collector to see the world’s smallest primate (which I can’t remember the name of now) to find chimpanzees in cages bearly large enough to hold them. Driver stopped at a village which was ravaged by a volcano and people rebuilding their houses, asked if we wanted to stop to take pictures. Asked if we want to visit a wet market selling dog meat. Mid 2000’s, driver asked if we wanted to stop by at the scene of the Bali bombings for photos. Went to a turtle sanctuary to find them baking in bad conditions. Went to a coral reef to find some of the worse plastic pollution I’ve personally seen. Don’t even start me on Jakarta! Although that pace is improving in recent years
Place is crazy. Total lack of consideration for animals and people, unless religion or culture is involved, then the rules are strict. I got in trouble once for handing money over with my left hand.
Totally different to what I’m used to! Place is nuts.
I just had the one trip, about a week in Jakarta (including a friend’s wedding), some time in Yogyakarta and Borobudur, and then were met up with the married couple and spent some time in Bali (my least favourite place, super touristy).
We didn’t have quite the offers you got!
Jakarta is crazy. We spent 3 hours in traffic to drive 28km one day. We saw a big apartment building and one next to it on a lean and gutted. Apparently they built one, it was on a lean, so they built it again next door, stripping the first on for materials.
Went up the big tower/monument thing, there is city as far as the eye can see. In fact, flying over Indonesia there aren’t really any large open spaces. Even farm land has buildings around the edge of each field.
I also drank a locally made rice based alcohol drink that if I knew about the risks I probably wouldn’t have drunk it.
I had the opportunity to try this when I was in Indonesia. The place I was at was a cafe advertising the most expensive coffee in the world, I think it was approximately USD$30 for a cup at the time (almost 10 years ago).
I remember seeing the example cages with civets inside them and a description of how it’s made (plus a conversation with a friend I was travelling with), and decided not to try it.
Do you remember where in Indonesia that was? I visited one near Bandung not realising what this coffee actually was. Bit like you I left without trying or buying. The place was a visitor centre and we weren’t allowed to look at the actual farm.
Well hey, lucky us, we’re about to find out if I’m a lier! I just spent 30+ mins digging through photos. Is this a civet?
It’s not geotagged, it was taken with an average 10 years ago digital camera, but based on the photos taken at the same time, it’s in the general area of Borobudur, but not actually at that temple. My best guess is near Prambanan. Possibly we stopped somewhere on the taxi ride from one to the other.
I don’t think we went to Bandung, or at least I don’t remember stopping there. My memory is fuzzy but I think we drove from Jakarta to Yogyakarta so must have at least passed nearby. The place wasn’t an actual farm though, just a place serving the coffee with an example civet outside.
Blimmin heck! Appreciate the effort in digging that photo up! It doesn’t sound like the same place though.
I’ve done a similar journey in the past and there’s places to stop everywhere. Even in a jungle in north Sulawesi at night, middle of no where, some fella selling durian in a cabin next to a dirt road.
This is covering a few experiences across Indonesia. We stopped at a frozen food shop which had 2 lions in small cages. Stopped at a private collector to see the world’s smallest primate (which I can’t remember the name of now) to find chimpanzees in cages bearly large enough to hold them. Driver stopped at a village which was ravaged by a volcano and people rebuilding their houses, asked if we wanted to stop to take pictures. Asked if we want to visit a wet market selling dog meat. Mid 2000’s, driver asked if we wanted to stop by at the scene of the Bali bombings for photos. Went to a turtle sanctuary to find them baking in bad conditions. Went to a coral reef to find some of the worse plastic pollution I’ve personally seen. Don’t even start me on Jakarta! Although that pace is improving in recent years
Place is crazy. Total lack of consideration for animals and people, unless religion or culture is involved, then the rules are strict. I got in trouble once for handing money over with my left hand.
Totally different to what I’m used to! Place is nuts.
I just had the one trip, about a week in Jakarta (including a friend’s wedding), some time in Yogyakarta and Borobudur, and then were met up with the married couple and spent some time in Bali (my least favourite place, super touristy).
We didn’t have quite the offers you got!
Jakarta is crazy. We spent 3 hours in traffic to drive 28km one day. We saw a big apartment building and one next to it on a lean and gutted. Apparently they built one, it was on a lean, so they built it again next door, stripping the first on for materials.
Went up the big tower/monument thing, there is city as far as the eye can see. In fact, flying over Indonesia there aren’t really any large open spaces. Even farm land has buildings around the edge of each field.
I also drank a locally made rice based alcohol drink that if I knew about the risks I probably wouldn’t have drunk it.