Crazy for Coffee

Photo: Whitney Browne

It's been a busy week.

I'm a full-time writer for Gilt Taste. Right now, I'm doing mostly product descriptions and vapid little blurbs. But, soon, I hope to do more thought-provoking pieces. Maybe even some food-focused travel writing? I want to visit the first Hawaiian sustainable oyster farm in Oahu. I want to eat noodles in a private box in Tokyo. I want to travel to Peru and eat guinea pigs err, local food at Machu Picchu. My hunger for food shall take me on many adventures.

For example, next week, Daniel and I are off to Seattle. I'm speaking at an annual Coffee Festival! We're going to brew lots of beans, meet other caffeine connoisseurs, and get the word out on the Champange of coffees: Kopi Luwak.

I've mentioned this coffee before in previous posts. It's rare. Super delicious. And, comes from civet excrement. Yes, that's right. It's the shittiest cup of coffee you'll ever try... in a good way.

The civets select the ripest, sweetest coffee cherries as their favorite food. For the civet, Arabica coffee cherries are a guilty pleasure... nature's best comfort food. The cat-like animal's digestive system rids the beans of any unwanted acidity. The result: a perfect cup of coffee with caramel notes that doesn't have that terrible bitter tinge.

Besides Seattle, we're also hosting an invitation only coffee tasting at Momofuku Milk Bar in Williamsburg. Christina Tosi is closing the storefront for two hours just for us! (She's the best!) We're going to brew and compare two East Java coffees  – Kopi Lanang (peaberry) vs. Kopi Luwak. We're also serving Milk Bar pastries!

I'll post pictures as soon as we wrap the tasting on Sunday. But, for now, keep your fingers crossed! Let's hope that our coffee dreams will percolate success for us!