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Writer's picturemarthaengber

Peruvian Coati Coffee

Updated: Jun 8



I live in California, the land of coffee snobs, myself included. A number of years ago, my husband — adamant non-coffee drinker — laughed upon finding out about the new craze, what he dubbed “cat-sh__t coffee.” It’s coffee made from beans eaten and excreted by animals and sold for an astronomical price.


Imagine my delight, then, when my Peru hiking group and I were treated to a short, but fascinating demonstration about the gathering, processing and roasting (7 minutes in a cast iron pot on a clay oven) of beans from the coffee trees lining our trail. Specifically, we learned about the beans harvested from the dung of not cats, but coati. The process apparently supercharges the strength of the coffee.


Then we got to try some, I have to say, I didn’t sleep well that night, despite the physical exertion, though the extra latte probably didn’t help.


Best of all, the village sold 1-pound bags of the “geisha” coffee for not $40 - $100 a bag like in the US, but instead $10.


And that, my friends, is the reason to travel beyond our own city limits, to learn weird stuff.


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For updates about Martha’s forthcoming books, news and giveaways, subscribe to her website: MarthaEngber.com.



BLISS ROAD, a memoir


WINTER LIGHT, a novel



GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS, a resource for writers


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