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Poopadoop

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Bill Spohn

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Poopadoop

by Bill Spohn » Sun Feb 11, 2018 3:16 pm

OK, arcane subject, I know, but interesting.

I was pretty surprised when I learned of Kopi Luwak coffee - the coffee beans are eaten by civet cats in Southeast Asia and then pooped out and collected. The cats' digestion removes the tough coating of the bean and arguable starts a bit of fermentation going by the time it is collected. It was reputed to be especially tasty even if the idea wouldn't sit well with some consumers. I tried it - didn't see what all the fuss was about. It was no Jamaican Blue Mountain, nor even a decent Kona. Figured this was a one off curiosity

Then while doing some recent reading I came across Argan oil from Morocco. It is made from the kernels of the Argan tree, and again hasa tough outer covering that defies mechanized stripping methods, so it has to be done by hand - but there is a time honoured alternative! The nuts are fed to goats and later on the argan nut harvesters go through the goat poop to get the nuts and refine the oil, apparently a less strenuous method than cracking the nuts to start with.

Obviously this sort of ..processing.. has some image issues, but Kopi Luwak seems to have gotten past that. There are couple of non-food uses for such things. In Thailand, elephant dung is harvested for the undigested fiber, which is used to make Poopoo Paper, apparently a hit among conservationists. They are also 'processing' elephant passed coffee beans, and the Japanese are now making elephant dung beer which has a certain earthy taste, apparently, as well as a market in Japan.

Every time I read something I think must be a joke, I check it out - truth can be very strange....
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Mike Filigenzi

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Re: Poopadoop

by Mike Filigenzi » Sun Feb 11, 2018 11:20 pm

I've had Kopi Luwak coffee once and I thought it was excellent coffee, although I wouldn't pay the price for it. (A friend treated us to some that he picked up in England.)

Elephant dung beer is really stretching it, though.
"People who love to eat are always the best people"

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Tom NJ

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Re: Poopadoop

by Tom NJ » Wed Feb 14, 2018 7:46 am

And don't forget all that corn....
"He ordered as one to the Menu born...."

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