The Most Expensive Coffees in The World

Kopi Luwak (Image: Forbes)

Kopi Luwak (Indonesia, $160 per pound)
Luwak Coffee is made from coffee cherries that have been eaten by common palm civets, which use their keen sense of smell to select the choicest and ripest beans. The digestion process removes the flesh from the crimson Sumatran berry and the beans, supposedly sweeter as a result of having passed through the animal, are hand-collected from the jungle floor.

Hacienda La Esmeralda (Boquete - Panama, $104 per pound)
Hacienda La Esmeralda's Geisha coffee set an online auction record when it sold for over $50 dollars per pound, unroasted, on May 30, 2006. The coffee, which is grown in the shade of old guava trees, has been widely and enthusiastically praised for its flavor and aroma. In April, it placed first in the SCAA "Best of Panama" competition, with a score of 94.6 out of 100.

Saint Helena Island Coffee

Introduction
The Island of St Helena is a small, mountainous, sub tropical island of 47 square miles, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, on latitude 16 degrees south and longitude 5 degrees 45' west. The island was discovered by the Portuguese Admiral Joao da Nova on the 21st May, 1502. He landed where Jamestown stands today and built a chapel there. For over eighty years the Portuguese kept their discovery a secret and used it to replenish their East India fleet.Saint Helena Island

St Helena ceased to be Portugal's exclusive preserve in 1588, when Capt. Thomas Cavendish called there during the last stage of his round-the-world voyage in HMS Desire. English and then Dutch ships were soon calling frequently. Following a Dutch attempt to annex the island in 1633, the East India Company decided to fortify it and in 1659 the first permanent settlement was established.

In 1673 St Helena was captured by the Dutch but only four months later was recaptured by the English. The East India Company was granted administration of the island which continued until 1834 when it was brought under the direct control of the British Crown.

On 15th October, 1815, the defeated French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte arrived at St Helena and began his imposed exile. His home was to be Longwood House, where he was to remain until his death on the 5th May 1821.

Today St Helena is a British Overseas Territory with an English speaking population of approximately five thousand people, mainly of English, African and Chinese descent.

kopi Hacienda La Esmeralda

Coffee quality is a product of altitude and processing. One of the truisms of coffee growers is that the bean is at its finest the moment the ripe cherry is picked from the tree. The only thing the grower can do from then on is to diminish the quality - he can in no way improve on it.

This means that as growers our responsibility is to pick only the ripest most perfect fruits and process them as perfectly as possible to bring out the full taste that nature put into them.

Picking Coffee

At Esmeralda we start by carefully instructing those who hand pick the fruit, to only pick the completely ripe, red fruits. They are paid a premium for this. Every night, as the coffee is received in the 'beneficio' (our processing plant), each harvester's production for the day is weighed and inspected for defects or green beans.

Here at Esmeralda we strive for absolute consistency and excellence in preparation, to produce a coffee of medium plus acidity, a sweet and clean cup with a touch of citrus flavor. Although our processes are certified in accord with ISO 9002, still we devote enormous time to the details and fine touches that have always distinguished Esmeralda Estate coffee from 'just another coffee'.

Sekilas Kopi Luwak

Kopi Luwak Elgibrany

Kopi adalah sejenis minuman yang berasal dari proses pengolahan dan ekstraksi biji tanaman kopi. Kata kopi sendiri berasal dari bahasa Arab qahwah yang berarti kekuatan, karena pada awalnya kopi digunakan sebagai makanan berenergi tinggi. Kata qahwah kembali mengalami perubahan menjadi kahveh yang berasal dari bahasa Turki dan kemudian berubah lagi menjadi koffie dalam bahasa Belanda. Penggunaan kata koffie segera diserap ke dalam bahasa Indonesia menjadi kata kopi yang dikenal saat ini. Secara umum, terdapat dua jenis biji kopi, yaitu arabika (kualitas terbaik) dan robusta.

Konsumsi kopi menempati peringkat kedua di dunia setelah air minum. Indonesia masuk dalam 3 besar negara pengekspor kopi di dunia setelah Brazil dan Kenya. Satu jenis kopi yang sangat populer dan fenomenal di kalangan penikmat kopi seluruh dunia, yaitu Kopi Luwak, satu-satunya kopi yang berasal dari Indonesia sejak pemerintahan Hindia-Belanda dan diyakini memiliki cita rasa paling tinggi di seluruh dunia.

Hanya Diam

Aku hanya diam sesekali mencuri pandang ke wajah jelitamu.
Kaupun diam hanya membalas tatapanku dan memberikan balasan yang misteri.
Tak terucap kata di saat aku berdiri membeku di hadapanmu.
Seperti bongkahan batu es yang dingin tak mampu ungkapkan kata.
Tak mampu bicara walau hanya sepatah kata.
Semua tak terucap dan engkau hanya ikuti apa yang aku lakukan.
Sangat sulit untuk memulainya membuka tabir misteri sinar matamu.

Dari bola matamu terpancar seribu cahaya murni yang tak terungkap.
Ingin ku luluhkan jiwamu ingin ku runtuhkan hatimu namun tak kuasa aku hidupkan kata-kata yang telah tertidur,
dan enggan bertahta.
Mungkin keanggunanmu telah menidurkan semua sajak dan laguku.
Mungkin caramu memandang telah lusuhkan puisiku.
Dan mungkin kecantikanmu telah mengunci lidah dan bibirku.
Dan semua berlalu tanpa kata dari mimpiku untuk milikimu.

Saat pun tiba tuk kita berpisah dan engkau tak tersenyum untukku.
Aku tak menyesali perpisahan ini tapi mungkin ku maki pertemuan itu.
Dan bila mungkin ada perjumpaan kembali di waktu yang lain, aku mungkin tak sangggup lagi menahan sesuatu yang terpendam.

Dan..Pinkan, maafkan aku yang hanya diam terpaku.
Tak beranjak tuk ceritakan itu kepadamu.
Entah esok atau lusa kita kan bertemu di anugerah yang lain.
Karena masih ada ruang dan waktu.
Seperti di malam dingin dengan wangi di tubuhmu.