The first farm producing the famed weasel coffee in the Central
Highlands province of Lam Dong has opened its door for visitors to see
the entire process of making the coffee with the help of domesticated
animals.
The two-hectare farm at 135E Hoang Hoa
Tham Street, Da Lat city, is keeping as many as 120 weasels (a type
of civet) with the permission of the local forest management agency, and
can produce an average of 500 kilograms of weasel coffee every year.
According to the farm’s owner Nguyen Minh Quoc, every
coffee crop, the civets are fed with highest quality Arabica coffee
berries. The coffee beans which are relatively undigested and intact in
their droppings were then collected, cleaned and processed for sale.
Experts say the enzymes inside weasels’ stomach give the undigested coffee beans delightful taste and distinctive aroma.
Quoc said, the coffee has been checked and recognised by the Pasteur
Institute of Da Lat and the Nuclear Research Institute for good quality
and hygiene.
The publicizing of weasel coffee
production process at the farm contributes to popularising the quality
and trademark of Vietnamese coffee, as well as creating a new
sight-seeing spot for tourists in Da Lat city.-VNA