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Of civets and kangaroos

Posted by Blogie on 14 July 2008  •  5497 views, 18 today   [link]  

Kangaroo Coffee Company launched last Saturday to a group of bloggers their specialty blend, Kape Balos. It’s civet coffee!

Kangaroo Coffee Company How can I put this in a way that won’t make you feel queasy…?

Well, it’s arguably the most expensive coffee in the world. That should tell you something about the quality and taste of this kind of coffee, right? Civet coffee, or Kape Alamid in Tagalog, is brewed from coffee beans that had been ingested by the civet (alamid or musang in Tagalog, balos in the language of the B’laan tribe).

The civet, you see, loves to eat coffee berries, which are apparently sweet. It digests the fruit and the coffee beans are deposited. The B’laan folk — who now find themselves being paid handsomely for a new livelihood — gather the beans from out in the wild and sell them to coffee buyers.

civet The beans, of course, go through a process of sanitation and quality control. In Mindanao, the coffee beans are of the arabica variety, which accounts for the aromatic quality of Kape Balos. What’s interesting is that, the coffee is actually full-bodied; this is not normally the quality of arabica beans.

At ₱300 a pop (Kangaroo serves it in a French press, with enough for a mug), I had high expectations for it, taste-wise. And I was not disappointed at all. In fact, Kape Balos is all that it’s hyped up to be.

Despite its robustness, Kape Balos doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste. There is, in fact, a fruity undertone that subtly swirls through this golden elixir of the gods. Also, it has very low acidity, which makes for a really great coffee experience.

Unless you have money to throw around, Kape Balos is definitely not everyday fare. Mark Seng, one of the owners of Kangaroo Coffee Company, says that the market price for a half kilo of civet coffee beans is around P9,000! Still, it’s good to know that there is this special blend in town for that special occasion, or for when you want to treat yourself to an exceptional brew.

Why is it so expensive? Well, the demand is high, especially in first-world countries. Plus, the supply is quite low. Mark mentioned that the B’laan tribe in Mindanao produces less than 20kg of civet coffee beans in a month — and most of that, of course, is exported.

Now, let’s talk about the food at Kangaroo Coffee. By the way, the owners are not Australian, and they don’t serve kangaroo meat or anything like that. Apart from their name and the boomerangs on display, there’s no connection to the island country.

Aside from the civet coffee (and Chinese tea), they served us two kinds of pasta, an appetizer, and lots of desserts — all of which they make themselves. My friend Bob Martin liked the Baked Penne, which was good but a tad sweet for my taste. What I preferred was the Smoked Fish Pasta. It was chock full of tasty smoked sardines (or at least I think it was sardines), lovely olives, and spices. And not too salty either. That spaghetti dish had subtle flavors that played delightfully in my palate.

The appetizer was Crostini with Paté. (I wonder why most coffee shops in town gravitate towards Italian cuisine…?) This dish was OK, but nothing spectacular. The bread was too thick to be enjoyable, though.

But the confectionery — oooohh! Delicious!! They obviously have a supplier for some of their cakes, but the items they served us were all their own concoctions. My favorite: the Graham Marshmallow. At first I didn’t want to try it because I’d gotten so full already (after gorging myself on the Smoked Fish Pasta). But after one tiny taste of it, I just had to have more! It’s actually not marshmallow, according to Mark, but some sort of cream that they torch to get that effect. And the effect is a visually and gastronomically pleasing piece of dessert.

The Kanga Nuggets and Choco Mint Cookies were also good. Both are perfect with Kangaroo’s coffees. Speaking of which, Kape Balos is best taken without sugar, but do have the Kanga Nuggets with it!

They also served us New York Cheesecake, which might’ve been a hit for me, but I was way too engrossed in the Nuggets…

Kangaroo Coffee Company, one of the newest cafés in town, is located on the corner of Tionko and Mapa streets, very close to Bangko Sentral and across from Sunburst Fried Chicken. Tel. (82)222-2800, 222-2766.

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Category: Coffee Shop
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22 Responses to “Of civets and kangaroos”

  1. drew

    14 Jul 2008

    Good thing Kangaroo opened up in a convenient location in the city! It’s my new wifi hangout. I appreciate their friendly service and tempting desserts! Wish I was there to try out their other stuff. Perhaps a Part deux? lol

    Reply to this comment

  2. Blogie

    14 Jul 2008

    @drew — Yeah, too bad davaofoodie.com wasn’t there… Well, there might be a next time! ;)

    Reply to this comment

  3. 13thWITCH

    14 Jul 2008

    ^.^ it is a nice place and with books to keep you company if your laptop starts to give u attitude ^.^

    *sarap ng food ^.^

    Reply to this comment

  4. Maej

    23 Jul 2008

    great info! looking forward to bring visitors there this month :-) hope to bump in to you one of these days. cheers!

    Reply to this comment

  5. eric

    12 Aug 2008

    i should include this in my list.

    im going to davao to cover Kadaywan next week!

    Reply to this comment

  6. Blogie

    12 Aug 2008

    Yes, Eric, include this in your itinerary! :)

    Too bad, though, coz I’m not gonna be in Davao for Kadayawan… I’ll see you at WordCamp na lang.

    Reply to this comment

  7. Floyd Robinson

    16 Aug 2008

    Kinda like drinking civet cat sh*t, hehehe

    Reply to this comment

  8. Blogie

    16 Aug 2008

    @Floyd Robinson — Well, just don’t think about it! ;) The coffee is actually quite good.

    Reply to this comment

  9. Fred Hughes

    06 Oct 2008

    I admire your courage to drink that liquid p**p! (Oh, sorry for being disrespectful). But really, there is a lot of coffee bean varieties all over the world and why do we settle for something that is ingested by an animal? One word. Gross. If you ask me, I would settle for arabica/robusta blends. Traditional but surely safe and “hygienic”.

    I was wondering, what if humans would consume these lovely coffee beans? Can Kangaroo market this too? Just a thought.

    Reply to this comment

  10. Blogie

    06 Oct 2008

    @Fred Hughes — LOL!! :D

    Reply to this comment

  11. bean addict

    06 Nov 2008

    Ok, so it is the most expensive coffee there is. I honestly got curious about this and tried it one lazy afternoon with my friends from Manila two weeks ago. I feel sorry for this coffee shop since they are really trying to sell this product.

    I asked the barista what to expect with this civet coffee, she said that it has a sweet, nutty and chocolatey taste. I was a bit excited but all went downhill when I had my first sip. It was bland like black water. What the hell were they thinking? I bet 3-in-1 coffees are better tasting than this filth. I was disgusted.

    I wish they just take this out their menu. It is disappointing and a total rip off. I will never buy this tasteless coffee ever again.

    Reply to this comment

  12. blogie

    06 Nov 2008

    I'm sorry you had that experience — maybe it was the way that it was brewed when you ordered it? That's not an excuse, though, I know.

    Reply to this comment

  13. louie

    19 Nov 2008

    we produced genuine civet coffee, kape alamid or the world known, kopi luwak. we have a civet farm in bansalan, davao del sur. anybody willing to do business with us, we suggest they should visit our farm to see for themselves that our claim for genuine kopi luwak is true. pls contact louie at 0920-7667551 or 082-303-4018. you can email me at snowbound102388@yahoo.com for more details.

    Reply to this comment

  14. riza garcia

    05 Feb 2009

    havent tried civet coffee yet (still thinking about it…very hard)… but i like chilling out at kangaroo, current fave ko their ice-blended matcha… their choco mint cookie is an absolute uppers (is this a word?!) hehehe…

    Reply to this comment

  15. Frances

    24 Jun 2009

    I better try this one soon. I live not far from Kangaroo Coffee C. but never had the guts to try authentic Civet coffee. :)

    Reply to this comment

  16. Tibo

    05 Mar 2010

    Thanks for the post. It’s my first time here at Davao. Already enjoying my first day. Your blog is helping me big time with your food suggestions.

    I’m currently here at Kangaroo enjoying their banana choco chip muffin…

    Reply to this comment

    • Blogie

      05 Mar 2010

      Thanks very much for reading my blog! I’ll try to keep it updated with more of what Davao can offer. I’m glad you got to like Kangaroo — it’s one of my top favorite coffee shops in the city.

      Reply to this comment

  17. james

    20 May 2010

    I sell civet coffee beans,if you interested just contact to my email.

    Reply to this comment

  18. james

    20 May 2010

    jhimx_kuya28@yahoo.com

    Reply to this comment

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  1. Food no good? run to your safe zone! | Ang Dabawenyo - 13. Feb, 2009

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