The kopi luwak fecal coffee fad has officially gone to, well, you know, with a Craigslist ad selling human poop coffee.
In strict terms, kopi luwak (which means civet coffee) features beans passed through the innards of the palm civet, an Indonesian cousin of the mongoose that looks like a cat. In fact, Bali locals call the finished brew "cat-poo-ccino," PBS reports.
The animals' digestive enzymes supposedly give better flavor to the beans, which are then roasted. Prices for the coffee skyrocketed to as high as $600 a pound in the mid-2000s, according to a Food Research International report.
Now, a 47-year-old Portland resident has posted an ad on Craigslist (see below) offering coffee beans passed through his or her intestinal tract for $30 per pound. And for any customers who need more quality reassurance, the poster writes, "Fecal specimens available upon request."
The Huffington Post emailed the Craiglist poster to see if this business was on the up and up or full of crap -- and to find out if anyone had acted on the offer. We'll update with the response.
Sprudge.com, which spotted the ad, notes the luwak coffee craze had already spread to use Thai elephants and Peruvian coati raccoons. The practice has caused animal activists to raise a stink, the Guardian reported last month.
Some swear it's flavorful. Others, like Rocky Rhodes of the International Coffee Consulting Group, said, after a taste, "It was apparent that Luwak coffee sold for the story, not superior quality.”
However, Rhodes was speaking about the genuine civet-derived kopi luwak, not the grind originating from one unnamed Portland person's bowels.
LOOK: Here's a screenshot of the ad
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