Bean Myth True

I read your article (“A Journey to the Source of the Ultimate Cup of Java,” Oct. 18) about luak coffee (made from beans previously digested by a cat). It is not a myth.

When I was a teen-ager in Indonesia (I am 89 years old now), I was invited by a family to spend a two-week vacation with them on an abandoned coffee plantation. There were many coffee bushes in the back yard of the bungalow that were bearing berries in all phases of red. We knew about the luaks feeding on ripe berries. Every morning we went into the coffee gardens gathering fresh luak droppings. The harvest was put into a bucket of water to loosen the “dirt.” After stirring the contents of the bucket, it was poured through a coarse sieve and bingo! There were the coffee beans. Not so clean, yet, but after a few morning washings they were ready to be dried in the sun. I have never tasted luak coffee; my hostess kept the beans for herself as something precious.

Doetje van Wyk

Gardena