75 posts on poop! ...
Kopi luwak, also known as civet coffee, is a coffee that consists of partially digested coffee cherries, which have been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The cherries are fermented as they pass through a civet's intestines, and after being defecated with other fecal matter, they are collected.[1] Asian palm civets are increasingly caught in the wild and traded for this purpose.[2]
Kopi luwak is produced mainly on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, and in East Timor. It is also widely gathered in the forest or produced in farms in the islands of the Philippines,[3] where the product is called kape motit in the Cordillera region, kapé alamíd in Tagalog areas, kapé melô or kapé musang in Mindanao, and kahawa kubing in the Sulu Archipelago. 'Weasel coffee' is a loose English translation of its Vietnamese name cà phê Chồn.
Producers of the coffee beans argue that the process may improve coffee through two mechanisms: selection, where civets choose to eat only certain cherries; and digestion, where biological or chemical mechanisms in the animals' digestive tracts alter the composition of the coffee cherries.
Just because it still is a berry doesn't mean it isn't poop. Perhaps the animal had a fast elimination process because it had tummy trouble.
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I considered that possibility, but I'm very skeptical, because even in an extreme case, I'd expect some 'stuff' to be carried along with the seeds. Even if the rain washed it away, there doesn't really seem to be a trace of it, no stains, nothing in the photo.
edit: On closer inspection, blown up in another window, there *might* be some staining on the deck. Might just come from the seed coat though. But it is possible that the seeds were pooped out.
-ERD50
Sorry, not my area of expertise . . .
I still think you should taste them.
A coffee professional compared the same beans with and without the kopi luwak process using a rigorous coffee cupping evaluation. He concluded: "it was apparent that luwak coffee sold for the story, not superior quality...Using the SCAA cupping scale, the luwak scored two points below the lowest of the other three coffees. It would appear that the luwak processing diminishes good acidity and flavor and adds smoothness to the body, which is what many people seem to note as a positive to the coffee.”[15] Professional coffee tasters were able to distinguish kopi luwak from other coffee samples, but remarked that it tasted "thin".[16] Some critics claim more generally that kopi luwak is simply bad coffee, purchased for novelty rather than taste.[15][17][18] A food writer reviewed kopi luwak available to American consumers and concluded "It tasted just like...Folgers. Stale. Lifeless. Petrified dinosaur droppings steeped in bathtub water. I couldn't finish it."[19]
I still think you should taste them.
Probably tastes like chicken. We will learn nothing.
I still think you should taste them.
Well I believe you are here in KY. Come on over and try them for yourself
Not saying this is what it is, but in SoCal food for wild critters is thin on the ground - they eat anything that might sustain them. Coyotes eat the small date palm pollen seeds, digest what they can, and leave scattered piles much like your mystery pile. Not saying they are male date palm seeds, but do think they passed through some critter.
Not saying this is what it is, but in SoCal food for wild critters is thin on the ground - they eat anything that might sustain them. Coyotes eat the small date palm pollen seeds, digest what they can, and leave scattered piles much like your mystery pile. Not saying they are male date palm seeds, but do think they passed through some critter.
If I ever get into a first contact ET situation I am so going to serve them chicken then ask them what it tastes like.
No intimate familiarity with coyote dining habits, but guess they are like dogs and wolf (hmm, canine family, similar habits?) things down with minimum chewing.