Bird shit: in fashion for an unusual Brazilian coffee | the Chronicle

Although when you think of birds and Brazil, Claudio Caniggia’s goal against Verdeamarela comes to mind, thanks to Diego’s spectacular pass, we can now also associate the terms with a new gastronomic specialty: Cafe El Jacu Bird.

This coffee is one of the rarest and most expensive varieties in the world. It is made from the berries of coffee ingested, digested and excreted by Jacu birds.

With around 50 hectares, the Camocim farm is one of the smallest coffee plantations in Brazil, but still manages to make a pretty good profit from a very exclusive and coveted type of coffee.

Henrique Sloper from Araújo it was he who, in the early 2000s, discovered that his precious plantations had been invaded by birds Jacu, a species of bird similar to the endangered pheasant, protected in Brazil.

While I had no idea birds were fans of coffee berries, Araujo nor did he know they were going to pay him a millionaire.

The owner desperately tried to drive the birds off his plantation and even called the environmental police about it, but nothing could be done about it. Since the birds were protected by law, they could not harm them in any way.

The similarity between Jacu coffee and Kopi Iuwak from Indonesia

However, Araújo had been an avid surfer, and his search for waves once took him to Indonesia, where he met kopi luwak, one of the most expensive cafes in the world, made from coffee beans also harvested from Indonesian civet crap.

“I realized I could try something similar with Camocim and the Jacu bird, but figuring out the idea was only half the battle.said of Araujo, who joked “the real challenge was to convince my coffee pickers that instead of berries they should collect bird poop “.

Business man should have financially incentivized workers so that they are ready to do it and look for the best grains among the feces.

The harvesting process involves hand-extracting the coffee berries from the dung, washing them and peeling them from their protective membranes.

For this reason, we now know why Jacu Bird coffee is so much more expensive than other varieties of coffee.

For its part, Henrique Sloper de Araújo congratulates Jacu’s birds for the excellent taste of their gourmet coffeesince they only eat the best and most ripe coffee cherries they can find, the coffee they choose is always the best.

“I watched with my mouth open from my living room as the Jacu bird selected only the ripe berries, leaving over half the bouquet, even the ones that looked perfect to the human eye.”says the owner of Camocim Estate.

Unlike kopi luwak coffee digested by Indonesian civets, the beans move faster through the digestive system of Jacu birds and are not broken down by animal protein or stomach acids. The resulting berries are roasted and are said to be infused with a unique nutty flavor with undertones of sweet anise.

Both for its quality and for its rarity, Jacu Bird coffee is one of the most expensive coffee varieties in the world, and it sells for around 1000 USD per kilogram.