One is from Indonesia: the civet coffee or kopi luwak in Indonesia, obtained when processing the coffee berries eaten and pooped out by the mammal. Local dwellers pick them up to be later washed and toasted.

The fruit inside is not totally digested, but it is chemically modified by enzymes in the animal’s stomach, breaking the proteins that cause its original bitter flavor.

While 900 million tons of common coffee are produced every year, only 500 kilograms of civet coffee are manufactured.

It’s considered one of the rarest and most expensive drinks in the world, and the cost ranges from 100 to 600 dollars a kilogram on the international market.

On the other hand, an exclusive Chinese infusion that uses panda bear’s feces as fertilizers.

Southwestern Chinese businessman, An Yanshi, decided to implement this fertilizing technique in his plantation due to the fact that the food that these animals eat is very healthy.

According to An, pandas only absorb 30 percent of the bamboo they eat, therefore, 70 percent is in their feces, generating fiber- and nutrient-rich stools.

This innovative product is totally organic, but its manufacturing process is strange and costly, with 50 grams at a price of over 2,000 euros. However, experts say that its flavor does not differ much from that of traditional green tea.

Taken from Orbe

By Leanny Vistel Pérez

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