Coffee taste test pits pricey cat scat coffee against other brews
HOLLAND, Mich.— Kopi Luwak coffee beans costs up to $600 pound, but is the taste worth the price?
That’s the question a panel of coffee experts attempted to answer during a blind taste test this week. “The Great Kopi Luwak Cupping Challenge” unfolded at JPs Coffee and Espresso Bar in Holland. Owner Jack Groot ran the test, pitting Kopi Luwak against other regional Sumatran coffees prices around $16 pound.
During the test, one Kopi Luwak sample rose to the top, scoring 76 points out of 100. However, two of the less expensive, non-cat poop coffees ranked within a half-point of Kopi Luwak and the others were very close.
“It’s a very good coffee, but not worth $600 a pound. If you bought it in a coffee shop, it would cost you $50 a cup,” said Andy Timko with Anodyne Coffee Roasters in Milwaukee.
