Celebrate 'National Coffee Day' with Cat Poop Coffee?

I passionately savor the first morning cup of coffee each day. I definitely look forward to my daily ritual of sipping the steamy beverage as I read my email and chat online with friends. I even set it up to brew the night before, so it will be ready and steaming hot, beckoning me with its tempting aroma which motivates me to "rise and shine". I enjoy collecting different flavors and brands, and from time to time order enticing and unusual coffees with which I can experiment.

But the other day I ran across an interesting item which alerted Java lovers about a rather esoteric holiday, National Coffee Day, celebrated on September 29. This was definitely news to me so I began reading about it with delight.

Now you may wonder what coffee and cats have in common. Cat people know that caffeine is highly toxic to felines. But here is the corker. It seems that Bennett's Fresh Roast Coffee shop, located in the Fort Myers Florida area, in celebration of this little known holiday will sell for one day only, the world's most expensive variety of coffee on the market, Kopi Luwak, which is also known as . . . get this . . . "cat-poop coffee." I have to admit I shuddered, but continued to read on.

The coffee is harvested by only a few South-Asian nations, which include Indonesia, Java,( the country for which coffee is nicknamed) and the Philippines. The Kopi Luwak beans are passed through the digestive tract of the civet, after eating the sweet berries containing the beans, but fortunately for unique coffee lovers civets are not able to digest the beans.

Civit photo courtesy of Seattle Times Blog This beautiful animal is a cat-like mammal but more closely related to genets and linsangs, (read more about them by visiting http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/) and are related to the feline species since they are included in the same sub-order as all felines. At first glance they might even be mistaken for domestic cats. Interestingly civets are also referred to as 'Toddy Cats.'

Kopi Luwak coffee's flavor is described as "earthy" and "musty". Seeing how much I love coffee, I might even venture to give it a try if I lived closer to Fort Myers.

Hey! You never know when this information may come in handy. With the holidays approaching and family games such as Trivia brought down from closet shelves, knowing about Kopi Luwak might just bring your score over the top and crown you as the undisputed winner.

Would you be sufficiently brave enough to try a cup of Kopi Luwak if it was available in your area? Leave a comment and let us know.