1:32 p.m. - 2007-07-02
The Critter and Coffee Connection, part 2?!
Dear Critter Readers!
I hope today finds you all in cheerful moods! A special shout out to C and T, with whom we had wonderful critter conversations at a wedding this weekend.
The wedding itself, held here , featured wildlife as well! A hummingbird flitted around the wedding party, and bats appeared after nightfall.
But today, Monday July 2nd, is special, as it marks our first tasting of poop coffee!
It's true. A month ago, R solemnly approached me in the living room. "I just ordered poop coffee," he stated. It turns out that not only does an Asian mammal eat coffee cherries and poop out "processed" coffee beans, but also a South American bird, the Jacu!
This large bird, which shares the same Galliformes order as our own turkey, is about 23 to 35 inches long and weighs one and a half to six pounds. Native to rainforests, jacus enjoy eating buds, leaves, flowers, insects and fruit, INCLUDING COFFEE BEANS! This is what our coffee source says about the jacu beans.
Jacu birds are members of the Penelope genus, and are also called jaucucaca in Brazil, marail in Suriname, pava and pava de monte, from Mexico to Argentina, and known as pucacunga in Peru.
Active in the morning and afternoon, these arboreal birds hang out in groups. They are popular game birds, particularily within native populations. Hunters find jacus by listening for the sounds of falling fruit!
Because jacus spend most of their lives in trees, obviously deforestation is a big issue for their continued well being. Save the rainforest!
Our jacu bird coffee saga: (Instead of costing $300 a pound like Kopi Luwak coffee, these were just $12, about twice as much as non-poop beans.)
Check out our new roaster; we love it.
Three minutes later:
And three minutes after that:
The brewing:
"Cupping":
The taste of deliciouness:
I drank my own cup after R had left for the corporate jungle. Black, the jacu bird coffee was bitter and strong, but fortified with splenda and half and half, as I usually drink it, I could taste the musky nuttiness of the beans.
While I think our coffee palates are good (it's really hard to drink Folger's anymore) it's difficult to taste as specifically as the statements we read on our Sweet Maria's coffee bags. For example, the Nicaragua Matagalpa Pacamara Peaberry that we drank last week claimed to taste of "herbal floral aromas...hints of sage, cola and fruits. " Maybe I can single out those things, but most likely I just enjoy a great cup of coffee!
We still have more jacu bird beans...come on over and try some!
Poopy and delicious,
Wendell!
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