MY CURIOUS, if not addicted, taste buds for coffee prompted me to choose Mt. Matutum in South Cotabato for my 2010 summer escapade, a ritual I rewarded to myself for surviving a yearlong bombardment in the newsroom.
Tucked within the southern ranges of Mt. Apo, Mt. Matutum is not only home of the B'laan tribe but also of the rarest and most expensive coffee this country, if not the world, ever had.
I first heard of this kind of brew in a news coverage in Maguindanao province late last year in the course of the declaration of Martial Law following the notorious November 23 massacre.
In a search for a good coffee shop in the cities of Cotabato, Koronadal, Tacurong, and General Santos, residents told me that the best coffee in the area could be found in Mt. Matutum, the Kape Alamid.
Moved by curiosity, I did a little research and was stunned when I stumbled over the Internet that it sells between $120 and $600 per pound in Japan and United States.
Astounded by its price, I am eager of giving it a "try".
After months of looking for pointman in the area, I made a trip mid-March in search for the exotic brew.
The journey took me nearly two hours travel on air from Manila to General Santos City; 20-minute bus ride to the town of Polomok in South Cotabato; and a heart-pounding one-hour ride on a two-wheel-but-10-seater motorcycle en route a dusty and bumpy road.
First encounter
Living in the forests of Mt. Matutum since he was born, my host, Apo Pedring of the B'laan tribe, welcomed me with his most hospitable smile, embracing me as if we have known for a long time.
Now in his 80s, Apo Pedring was among the few who carried the legacy of sustaining this rare brew from generation to generation.
As I was overflowing with fascination on the celebrated brew, the tribe's warm welcome to me was graced with my first encounter with Kape Alamid.
Offered with a cup of the so-called peculiar coffee, I gasped for its aroma for a couple of minutes, letting it run to my nose to orient my senses.
It has a strong smell but its odor is distinct and unique. The intensity of its chocolate-like aroma is so soft that it flows smoothly from the nostril to the head without interruption.
As I tasted it for the first time, I slowly sipped the brewed coffee, letting it travel across my tongue for my ever inquisitive taste buds.
I was surprised. It tasted like fermented plum mixed with hazelnuts. While its odor is alluring and enticing, its taste will bring your senses to a surprise belying the contemplation brought about by its smell.
The taste simply contradicted the coffee's persuading aroma. Unlike all other coffee, it has no bitter taste. But its effect is way beyond all other coffees that I have tasted in my life.
A minute after a first slurp, my body is sweating all around and my manhood fully energized. Another few minutes, my travel exhaustion was gone and I felt fully recharged.
Accordingly, Apo Pedring said, it was an aphrodisiac.
I did not intend to argue whether it was scientifically proven. After all, who would dispute a testimony of an octogenarian who have three wives and 22 children, and bragged that "more are still to come".
Brew from Poo
Kape Alamid is made from coffee berries that are being eaten and defecated by the Asian Palm Civet, locally known as alamid or milu. Yes, this coffee is made from beans that these little guys eat and excrete.
Unlike other areas where these cat-like creatures were hunted for food, the B'laan pampered the civets for a very special purpose.
During coffee season, civets flock to the tribe's coffee plantation undisturbed. It eats the berries, but the beans pass through their system undigested.
Why does Civet coffee taste so good?
The B'laan believed that these creatures choose only the ripest and sweetest coffee cherries.
When the beans pass through civet's digestive tract, enzymes break down some of the proteins in the beans, producing beans of low acidity and thereby resulting in a very smooth, much less acidic brew.
The B'laan then collects the dung from the plantation floor (Of course, it smells like hell!), washed it by the river, dried it for a couple of days, and roasts it to produce the unique drink.
Expensive Poo
It's very amusing to know that the B'laan in Mt. Matutum lives by the "poo", selling a 100g pack at P800. In Manila, where you need to comb down the coffee shops in the metropolis to find one, a 50g pack costs between P700 to P900.
In Australia, Europe and the United States, the costs vary from $400 to as much as $600 a kilo.
A teashop in General Santos City serves Kape Alamid at P350 a cup while I am still to find a cafe in Manila that sells it on a per-cup basis.
One small cafe in Australia sells Kape Alamid at A$50.00 per cup while the Brasserie of Peter Jones Department Store in London started selling a blend of Alamid for £50 a cup!
Truly, this coffee matches the gold treasures of the famous Mt. Diwalwal. But contrary to Diwalwal, people in Mt. Matutum do not destroy nature in search for treasure. They simply do not disrupt the order of nature and, as result, they get the best from it.
So the next time you stop in your favorite coffee shop, consider that it's not being hybrid or imported that makes the best blend. In the Philippines, it's the poo the makes a great brew.