Vietnamese Weasel Coffee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vietnamese Weasel Coffee - Essay Example The plantation workers were not allowed to consume coffee beans picked from the coffee plantations. Driven by desire, they would pick up and clean the beans that had been excreted by the civet cats or weasels. It is argued that the weasels’ digestive systems give the coffee beans a unique rich aroma, smooth and rounded taste. The plantation owners later began to appreciate the unique flavor and hence its popularity today. Coffee producers posit that this process of making coffee through collecting beans from civet cats improves the coffee through selection and digestion. The civets select the most appropriate cherries containing better beans. When ingested and goes through the digestion process, the beans are enhanced in flavor due to fermentation in the digestive tract. The intensive method of collecting coffee beans has given rise to a new system of farming where the civet cats are battery caged and fed on the coffee cherries which they later evacuate; they are collected, washed and sold to the manufacturers (Waltner-Toews 13).The coffee beans are also collected in the forests. This is as a good source of income for the collectors. The unique flavor of this brand of coffee is enhanced by the use of condensed milk as a creamer and sweetener. After the coffee beans are ground, they are put into a metal filter, mixed generously with condensed milk. Boiling water is then put and allowed to drip slowly i nto the cup. The condensed milk and coffee are then blended carefully with a spoon giving way to a smooth, wonderful mixture known as cafe sua da. This coffee has a stronger and rich flavor as compared to the western style coffee. Production of this coffee is continually becoming difficult as the newly acquired intensive farming methods of raring civet cats is being heavily criticised by animal rights groups.