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Café Luwak does it in downtown Ypsilanti Michigan and it does it well. They offer a small, but tasty selection of coffees to drink, but are the only café in the area that brews straight up Kopi Luwak coffee.

Kopi is the Indonesian word for coffee and Luwak is the local name of the Asian Palm Civet from Sumatra. It is the most expensive coffee in the world; $200 a pound. Why you ask? Well it comes from the digestive system of the Civet. And I really don’t want to go any further. Get the picture?

“I wasn’t able to find any of these beans prior to owning my café, but I thought it was such an interesting story that if I ever owned a coffee shop, I would call it café Luwak,” Jim Karnopp, owner said.

At the end of 2004, Karnopp’s saw an ad with a Deli for sale in Depot Town. He thought the format and set up would be perfect for the café he wanted to open. It has a coffee counter which is where the register is, an ice cream cooler and a kitchen. Food or drink can be ordered at the register or have a seat at one of their many tables and someone will be with you shortly. Wi Fi is also offered.

The espresso roast is a smooth and darkly roasted French, they brew French and house during the week and on the weekend, they offer Papua New Guinea roast. Three times a year they bring in Luwak for brew and serving and almost every time, either an article is written or a least a mention in the paper. The first cup of Luwak, to some, might taste like a good cup of Sumatra coffee. But the second cup around, “the best way I can describe it is that it has a very smooth coffee taste with very little acidity, and an incredible hang time, meaning the initial taste of the coffee sits on your tongue for a long time, and there really isn’t any after taste,” Karnopp said.

Since opening, they’ve upgraded their coffee and food. They buy all organic fair trade from a local roaster, fresh meats they cook there instead of store bought, and upgraded the kitchen to serve the breakfast and lunch time hungry. Got a sweet tooth? They serve the always classic and crave inducing Stroh’s ice cream; they make desserts and drinks from that. The malt powder that sits on the back counter can be used for a malt, but ask them to add it to a hot or iced mocha and they will. Malted mocha? Really, come on in and try one. Yummmmmmm.

Café Luwak 42 E. Cross St. Ypsilanti, MI 48198 (734)482-8050 http://www.cafeluwak.com