Things to do in Bali: Visit the Kintamani Coffee Plantation
There are so many different things to do in Bali: bicycling, horseback riding, art collecting, relaxing at the spa or the beach. But where else can you see how the most expensive coffee in the world is produced? One of Bali’s most unique attractions is a tour of the Kintamani Coffee Plantation, where several varieties of coffee beans, including “Kopi Luwak”, the most expensive coffee beans in the world, are grown and processed.
Kopi luwak or “civet coffee” currently sells for around $300/pound. Why the high price tag? The beans are processed in a unique and surprising way. Before the beans are roasted and made into coffee, they are eaten, digested, and defecated by civets or “luwak” – small, nocturnal mammals. The civet’s stomach acid apparently cuts the bitter taste, and the beans, once they are collected, thoroughly cleaned, and roasted, produce a very palatable (if labor-intensive) cup of coffee. Plantation Kintamani is one of the few locations in the world that produces this type of coffee. The tour is quite educational, and there is a café at the plantation where you can sample different varieties of coffee, including Kopi Luwak.
Kintamani is only a 30-minute drive from our Bali luxury villa, high in the mountains near Lake Batur and Mount Batur. Please make arrangements with our driver and he will be happy to take you there.