After consulting JC, the passionate and well-spoken proprietor of Funnel Mill, we opted for the Yemen Mocha, considered the oldest type of coffee known to man. Apparently the flavors differ depending on whether you are a man or a woman. Men taste the nuttiness and boldness of the coffee and women taste the fruitiness and brightness of the cup. My friend and I were going to put that theory to the test.
As usual, JC freshly ground his beans, none of which are more than ten calendar days old and freshly roasted at an Oakland facility (apparently Santa Monica wouldn't let him roast in town), and poured them into the siphon. Near-boiling filtered water was poured into the lower receptical and a blue flame put underneath to fire it up.
These photos resummarize what I covered in my previous entry, but this time JC craddled the lower orb to retain heat, which works to increase the foam seen in the photo above. This increases the intensity of the flavors and aromas of the coffee. JC told us that this brew was a single extraction, ideal for its character and roast.
As instructed, we slowly waited for the flavors of the coffee to settle, with the aromas and acids literally changing as the temperature cooled in the clear cup. The color of the coffee was fantastic, a rich hue of leathery brown. The aromas were indeed initially nutty and rich, but rounded out to a slightly fruitier disposition once we proceeded to the lower parts of the cup.
In a great act of kindness, JC opened his personal stash of Kopi Luwak, the aforementioned coffee from the dung of a civet, a weasel-like creature in Southeast Asia known to hunt deep into the coffee branches from the most perfectly ripe coffee berries. It is considered the rarest and most expensive coffee in the world. He ground the beans and brewed them at a double extraction. The grinds swelled to twice the grinds from the Yemen Mocha beans and he poured two cups for us. To our amazement, coupling this coffee with the Yemen made it an ideal comparison. The Kopi Luwak was neither pungent nor dank, but sweet, earthy, and smooth, with hints of wet forest dirt, dark chocolate, and grass. I don't know if I would be willing to shell out $800 a pound for this stuff, but it's easily one of the best coffee's I've ever tasted in my life.
As with the Yemen Mocha, the flavors proceeded to its more mellow structure, with a pleasant fruity and bright note of floral base hitting the palate with each progressive swig. The mouthfeel was astoundingly smooth. Swirled in cup a la Bordeaux, the Kopi Luwak was transformational, rendering its distinct terroir (being the lush lands of Southeast Asia and this poor mammal's anus). The extradinary 'poop' coffee was a triumph. If money were no object, I could drink this every day until those civets had their fill.
The two glasses side by side.
I felt terribly honored and humbled to have tried the priciest coffee in the world. The pleasant caffeinated high proceeding its consumption made me feel giddy but calm in an arresting way. To finish off the glasses, JC poured out a few dark chocolate niblets, an ideal complement to coffee.
Afterwards, we were able to chat briefly with JC and his fiance Teresa, who heads the 'tea' side of Funnel Mill. It's obvious that their passion, devotion and commitment to excellence is both unparalleled and remarkable in the zeitgeist of coffee we are witnessing today. No coffee lover/afficionado/connoisseur should be without a visit to Funnel Mill and frequency will only add to the joy of experiencing coffee at its finest.
This poster reminds me to that those Kopi Luwak beans had a very special source. Until next time, my friendly civet.
