The Special Taste of Weasel Coffee One of the best coffees in the world is found in Vietnam but the story behind its “production” is not for the feint of heart.

Wild weasels run around the coffee plantations, eat the best and ripest coffee cherries and then after some time, leave their droppings around with the coffee beans relatively undigested and intact. However, the enzymatic process that happens inside their stomachs give the undigested coffee beans a rather earthy, chocolaty flavor when roasted and ground. This unique, distinctive taste is priced by coffee connoisseur who pay heavily for this special type of coffee.  With only around 700 kg of weasel coffee harvested per year in Indonesia and Vietnam, not only does it command a premium price, it also becomes a symbol of stature and power. In fact, the weasel coffee is commonly given as a token to visiting heads o states and dignitaries visiting Vietnam.

The Civet
Most types of weasels found in Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and China are meat-eaters. However, one type of civet in Buon Ma Thuot Province in Vietnam only eats fruits, with ripe coffee cherries as its staple. Being a nocturnal animal, it only feeds from 10pm to midnight, gnawing on the thin outer skin of the cherries then swallowing it whole.