Mount Apo CIVET COFFEE + Crocodile Durian Ice Cream for the win!

It's time to experience Davao through the taste buds.Food component of the trip is in order.Perfect coz we got a little starved after the shows inside the main animal sanctuary of the Crocodile Farm.

I like it here coz there are shops outside which sells not just goods and souvenir items but food as well,especially Durian Ice Cream and Civet Coffee---just a few of what Davao is well known for.

I know right,Durian.Something tells me I should try it but I was not emotionally ready that time to try it.The super strong smell of the fruit really turns me off.Imagine having sex with a woman with strong body odor and you know what I mean.hahaha

Mount Apo CIVET COFFEE

I found this small Ice cream store they call SWEET SPOT.They have special flavors like Crocodille Durian (70pesos),Durian Dynamite(60 pesos) and Dragon Fruit (60pesos).All home made.

 

 
SWEET SPOT ICE CREAM and their ice cream selection

Okay.Since I can't handle durian itself I guess trying a Durian flavored Ice Cream would be a good start.I ordered one of each flavors for me,my wife and Jd.

They also sell coffee.Coffee and Ice Cream,how about that?
But this is no ordinary coffee,it's Civet Coffee,Mt.Apo Civet Coffee that is.

Mount Apo Civet coffee is naturally grown arabica coffee from the rich volcanic ash of Mount Apo in altitudes of 1,500meters above.I guess that's why it's expensive huh.Imagine transporting the coffee from 1,500 meters to start with.

the Civet is the culprit why this coffee tastes so good

 The story doesn't end there.It's called Civet Coffee because Civets (toddycats or musang) eats the berries.In the cat's stomach,proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans making shorter peptides and more free amino acids.The coffee that you drink is literally not the original Arabica coffee bean but the by-product of that bean and the acids inside the stomach of the Civet.In short,the poop of the cat is the one being made into coffee,that is,coz the coffee been eaten by the cat doesn't get completely digested so when the cats defecate,farmers collect the coffee beans for processing.

That's another reason why Civet coffee is one of the most expensive and low-production varieties of coffee,In Davao Crocodile Park,a glass costs 150pesos.

 
  
an illustration fo how they process the Civet Coffee
 
 freshly brewed

Civet Coffee --150pesos
Altura --- 50 pesos

They say the process of the civet ingesting the coffee and all the chemical reaction that goes with it makes the coffee less bitter.In Davao,the mix of variety,soil,elevation and the Civet digestion,selection and mild roasting makes that coffee taste more special.

I am not very good with discriminating taste so I ordered two Civet Coffee and one Altura(50pesos) so as to compare any difference.My wife and I were sipping one cup after another and noticed that there is indeed a big difference.The Civet coffee passed the taste test.

 

 

 

Dragon fruit side by side a Crocs egg

my wife with friend Jd enjoying the coffee and ice cream

And oh,about the ice Durian Ice Cream---highly recommended.The Durian flavor is not very strong,just enough to give it a kick but be warry,the smell lasts for hours.I remember burping during dinnertime and I still smelled Durian in my mouth.hahaha

And the Crocodile Durian flavor,don't worry they don't put Crocodile meat in it,just added crocodile egg for flavoring.I wonder if there is any difference though coz whichever way you put,you still ate crocs.:)

________________________