our own kopi luwak

Kopi Luwak (pronounced [ˈkopi ˈluwak]) or Civet coffee is coffee made from coffee berries which have been eaten by and passed through the digestive tract of the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The civets eat the berries, but the beans inside pass through their system undigested. This process takes place on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago, in the Philippines (where the product is called Kape Alamid) and in East Timor (locally called kafé-laku). Vietnam has a similar type of coffee, called weasel coffee, which is made from coffee berries which have been regurgitated by local weasels. In actuality the "weasel" is just the local version of the Asian Palm Civet.

Kopi is the Indonesian word for coffee, and luwak is a local name of the Asian Palm Civet. The raw, red coffee berries are part of its normal diet, along with insects, small mammals, small reptiles, eggs and nestlings of birds, and other fruit. The inner bean of the berry is not digested, but it has been proposed that enzymes in the stomach of the civet add to the coffee's flavor by breaking down the proteins that give coffee its bitter taste. The beans are defecated still covered in some inner layers of the berry. The beans are washed, and given only a light roast so as to not destroy the complex flavors that develop through the process. Some sources claim that the beans may be regurgitated instead of defecated.

In early days, the beans would be collected in the wild from a 'latrine', or a specific place where the civet would defecate as a means to mark its territory, and these latrines would be a predictable place for local gatherers to find the beans. More commonly today, captured civets are fed raw berries, the feces produced are then processed and the coffee beans offered for sale.

The resulting coffee is said to be like no other. It has a rich, heavy flavour with hints of caramel or chocolate. Other terms used to describe it are earthy, musty and exotic. The body is almost syrupy and it's very smooth.

One must wonder about the circumstances that brought about the first cup of Kopi Luwak coffee. Who would think to (or even want to) collect and roast beans out of animal feces? Perhaps a native figured it was easier to collect the beans from the ground this way, rather than having to work harder and pick them from the trees? We'll likely never know. But because of the strange method of collecting, there isn't much Kopi Luwak produced in the world. The average total annual production is only around 500 pounds of beans.

Because of the rarity of this coffee, the price is quite outrageous. If you can find a vendor, the current cost for a pound of Kopi Luwak is around $300 or more. Some more adventurous coffee houses are selling it by the cup, but you won't likely find it at your local coffee shop just yet. The coffee isn't so spectacular that it's truly worth that amount of money. You are paying for the experience of enjoying such an unusual and rare delicacy.

Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for between $120 and $600 USD per pound, and is sold mainly in Japan and the United States. It is increasingly becoming available elsewhere, though supplies are limited: only 1,000 pounds (450 kg) at most make it into the world market each year (Pg 23, The Gospel According to Starbucks; Sweet). One small cafe, the Heritage Tea Rooms, in the hills outside Townsville in Queensland, Australia has Kopi Luwak coffee on the menu at A$50.00 (=US$48.00) per cup, selling approximately four cups a week, which has gained nationwide Australian press.[1]. In April 2008, the brasserie of Peter Jones department store in London's Sloane Square starting selling a blend of Kopi Luwak and Blue Mountain called Caffe Raro for £50 (=US$99.00) a cup.

A hypothesis to justify this coffee's reputation proposes that the beans are of superior quality before they are even ingested. At any given point during a harvest, some coffee berries are not quite- or over-ripe, while others are just right. The palm civet evolved as an omnivore that naturally eats fruit and passes undigested material as a natural link to disperse seeds in a forest ecosystem. Where coffee plants have been introduced into their habitat, civets only forage on the most ripe berries, digest the fleshy outer layer, and later excrete the seeds eventually used for human consumption. Thus, when the fruit is at its peak, the seeds (or beans) within are equally so, with the expectation that this will come through in the taste of a freshly-brewed cup. As this may be true for the beans derived from wild-collected civet feces, farm raised civets are likely fed beans of varying quality and ripeness, so one would expect the taste of farm-raised beans to be less.

Our farm is located in Bansalan, Davao del Sur near Mt. Apo National Park,. because we have our own coffee farm and civets, we can guarantee that our product is 100% pure kopi luwak. for those who are interested to do business with us, i suggest you should visit our farm and see for yourselves we produced our own kopi luwak. what makes our civet coffee different is the variety of our coffee itself. while others have the arabica or robusta.variety, our farm is planted with the catimur coffee variety which is of higher quality than arabica and robusta. catimur is better. the color of its fruits or berries itself is yummy to the eyes. it close to fuschia pink than red.

For the locals here in bansalan, this coffee is known as kape sa Milo'. Milo' is the native word for civets. for interested persons, you may contact me through my mobile, 0920-7667551 or through my email, snowbound102388@yahoo.com

at the baywalk in davao

this place seems to be an oasis here in davao. people frequently visit this place for varied reasons. to some, it is here they find true peace in busy davao. for some, to feel the fresh breeze which most people believe to be therapeutic. and to others like me, this place is simply like heaven on earth where one can renew our spirits. from this place, you can see the majestic mt. apo on the right side. while right infront is the beautiful island garden city of samal.

One of the reasons that throng of people troop into this place is the love for fishing. yup, most people do enjoy and bring the family together. honestly, its the kids who pulled me into this place because they too, love fishing very much. they developed the love on this while we were still in england. almost all over england, people of all ages spend their saturdays in the lakes and rivers. along the dike of the baywalk, you can see the tandem of fathers and sons, in some cases, fathers and daughters, throwing their hook into the sea. and the joy comes when a fish bites the bait and take the fish out of the water. the laughter, the joy really renews the spirits and strengthened the bond that ties the family together.

at 5 pm, the place is overflowing with people from all walks of life. people vending foodstuffs such as kwek-kwek, juice, etc are busy selling their goods. there are first-timers awed by such project which is initiated by a private person for public use. yet, this person has been restricted to further develop the place. gush, government sucks, really. the famous attraction in the baywalk is the 30- foot statue of david. yes, the world famous statue of david sculptured by michaelangelo. with all its nudity and art, its elicits different comments. others view it as a work of art. to some, it is obscenity. there is also a mini-zoo, of which the ostrich are famous. but what attracts most is the pond full of black-tip sharks. for me, this is the first time i have seen sharks that numerous swimming in the single pond, so close that you can even touch it.

yup, brother, bring our family together there and enjoy the place.

my father's hometown, trinidad, bohol

ever since i was a kid, my father told me stories of their life in bohol. my father came from a little town in bohol known as trinidad. his stories is all about how nice is it to live in that place. he always mentioned of the river where they always went for fishing and the crocodiles living there. i know my father had a very happy childhood because whenever there is time for us to talk, he always reminisces of the good times he had with his siblings and his cousins. it is a little bit funny though, that we cannot trace our genealogy on my father's side. even older people have no idea who their forefathers are. during the last grand reunion of the Puracan clan held in our great hometown, trinidad, we can only trace up their grandfather's name. nothing more.

during my first visit to our holy ground in 1977, i was full of excitement given the chance to finally see for myself my father's birthplace. add to that the feeling of having my first ride on a boat. the trip to bohol was indeed nice but really difficult. we need to travel to butuan city from davao to catch a boat going to jagna, bohol and another 5 hours of busride on a dirt road going there. i really had a nice time there. people simply walk from one destination to another, sometimes we rode on a karomata. i met a lot of relatives, lot of them. one thing i cannot forget about trinidad is how religious our relatives are. sundays are holy. we got nothing to do but spend the day in the church and we didnt ran out of church activities. i also had experienced the way they conduct the DVCS (daily vacation church school). i really had a lot of fun there.

i took my kids there in 2003 and same with what i felt then, they loved the place. probably it is one of those places wherein people really care for each other, relationships with fellowmen is more important than anything else. as the old adage do remind us, there is no place like your father's hometown.

by the way, here's a little trivia about trinidad.

In 1820 Trinidad was yet a barrio in the northern part of Bohol inhabited by a small group of settlers under the leadership of Macag. It was once named Cabigon but the abundance of ipil trees in the area caused it to be referred to as 'Ipil' thus becoming an offcial name when it became a town.

But Ipil became a barrio when it was annexed to Talibon on October 31, 1903 by virtue of Act 968. Several attempts to reestablish Ipil as municipality failed but in 1947, through the combined efforts of the people led by Juan Gonzales and aided by Sen. Oligarion Clarin, Ipil regained its former status as a town and was renamed Trinidad in honor of the wife of Pres. Manuel A. Roxas who issued the EO No. 80 s. of 1947, restoring the community to its former status as an independent municipality.

Trinidad at a glance
Population:	25683
Number of households:	4707
Land area:	9472 ha
Number of barangays:	20
Distance from Tagbilaran:	98 km

if you are planning to visit bohol, include in your iterinary my father's hometown and you find the real meaning of the word, peace. it is really peaceful in there. everything is within your your reach. it could be you retirement haven. enjoy the place.

of moving on and looking forward

there are times in our lives when we are confronted with the dillema on whether we need to stick with it or simply move on. actions are varied and largely depends on how each person react to the situation. more often, the emotional fiber of such person plays the bigger role. we are afraid to lose the person whom we loved so much. but what if the person we loved doesnt love us anymore? is it worth dying for? situations are different. same situation may happen to different people and reactions are, in most cases, different. maybe because we are unique individuals and we act to situations differently.

But the bottomline settles down to one thing, will it be benefecial to all concerned? some say that life itself is of pains and being hurt. that it never meant to be a bed of roses. do we always let ourselves be hurt? in the end, the final question is maybe along this line, are we fair to ourselves? in the movie kungfu panda, master uguay, the turtle teacher said to panda, "yesterday is a past, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift". it doesnt meant we have to forget and deny ourselves on the joy that life brings. we simply need to enjoy God's gift. the gift of being alive everyday. we need to happy and contented with what we have. we dont need life's excessess to be happy.

while waiting for my teacher, i just found myself surfing the net for quotations all about moving and was not disappointed for i found what i'm looking for. i really take these lines by heart and feel it to fully understand its meaning.

guys, simply feel them. here they are.

Sometimes the cards we are dealt are not always fair. However you must keep smiling & moving on ~
Tom Jackson
~ Moving on, is a simple thing, what it leaves behind is hard. ~
Dave Mustaine
~ To be able to move on, one has to learn to forgive not only the person (or people) who have done one wrong but also oneself ~
Eugenia Tripputi
~ By forgiving and choosing to move on, one takes the power back to morph it into positive energy. ~
Eugenia Tripputi
~ Life is about making the right decisions and moving on. ~
Josh
~ Forgiveness and letting go are steps on our road back to happiness. ~
Tina Dayton
~ You are responsible for your life. You can't keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on. ~
Oprah Winfrey
~ Take a second out to think about this: in your life you search and search for the right person for you. Every time you break up with someone you get one step closer to that person. You should look at moving on as getting closer to meeting the one. ~
Ian Philpot
~ Quietly forgiving and moving on is a gift to God ~ and yourself. ~
Unknown
~ When you start to abandoning your old beliefs or values... you may be stuck at the threshold for two or three years. Before moving on, you have to clear away your cherished beliefs. ~
Dick Raymond
~ Courage is not the absence of fear, but simply moving on with dignity despite that fear. ~
Pat Riley
~ one shot at a time and then move on. Remember that golf is just ~
Nancy Lopez

~ The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can and as often as you can, and keep moving on. ~
Ulysses S. Grant
~ Moving On has allowed me to know who I am and to be present in all that I do. I take this forward in my work and in my personal relationships. It is a powerful program and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to move on with their life. ~
Lou
~ If someone you love hurts you cry a river, build a bridge, and get over it. ~
Unknown
~ Letting go doesn't mean giving up... it means moving on. It is one of the hardest things a person can do. Starting at birth, we grasp on to anything we can get our hands on, and hold on as if we will cease to exist when we let go. We feel that letting go is giving up, quitting, and that as we all know is cowardly. But as we grow older we are forced to change our way of thinking. We are forced to realize that letting go means accepting things that cannot be. It means maturing and moving on, no matter how hard you have to fight yourself to do so." ~
Unknown
~ Any change, any loss, does not make us victims. Others can shake you, surprise you, disappoint you, but they can't prevent you from acting, from taking the situation you're presented with and moving on. No matter where you are in life, no matter what your situation, you can always do something. You always have a choice and the choice can be power. ~

the second gwapo

king-king, my second son, is one of the kids who really believed that they are born handsome. at 3 years old, he can read the alphabet and few common english words. we thought he was gifted child because he can understand things with ease.
for this reason, we had him enrolled in the special education school during his kindergarten and grade 1. however, we decided to transfer him to a regular school the following year out of pity that he was pushed to his limits. it seems we deprived him of his childhood because his life was all devoted to studies.

out from sped, he still shows what stuff is he made of. he is a consistent honor student. during our stay in england where he attended level 5, they were surprised to know that this kid has something in himself.

this kid loves football but is into basketball. his fave online games are crazy cart, rakion and warrock. this family believe that he has a very bright future.

by the way, he takes his only uncle on the father side, neil ( a surgeon) as his idol. like his idol, he wants to be a surgeon in the future.......

my dream fire truck

as they always say, once a firefighter, forever a firefighter.

i have been a firefighter for the last 18 years and i really love the job so much. i have been to developed countries and have seen the best the world has to offer. the best airport crash tender i've seen is in schipol airport in amsterdam and in osaka. they have been using carmelray machines.

but being firefighter responding mostly to structural fires, i cant help but simply adore with the beauty of a dennis firetruck which is standard in the united kingdom. i lived in the town of alfreton in derbyshire and watched these machines responding to fire calls. they're really great. i got the chance to sit on it during my visit to the nottingham fire station and the feeling is great. for a firefighter, just taking a sit in the state-of-the-art equipment is everything.

i do believe that in this lifetime, our government cannot purchase one of those. our leaders are super-negligent of our need to protect our own people. we are contented with those under-powered, impractical fire trucks assembled in the philippines. assemblers are simply after the profits, not its effectiveness.

all we can do now is simply pray. for we all know our capabilities are very limited. whether you like it or not, but this is a hard pill to swallow. best thing to do, take care of your own properties.

i got the rat

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2008 is a Year of the Rat (Earth), begins on February 7, 2008 and ends on January 25, 2009. A Rat Year is a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. This is a good year to begin a new job, get married, launch a product or make a fresh start. Ventures begun now may not yield fast returns, but opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way for you to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly, and make the most of every opening you can find.

i was surprised and curious to note however, that the year of the rat is not good for people born in the year of the monkey on which i'm one of them. as it is written in the chinese zodiac, this is not a good year for business, health and relationships. it may sound true but i take more of a warning for me. we should watch for the issues that may not be on our favor. while we might not believe it, it may be worth giving it a chance.

by the way, i got the rat himself. taken in singapore during the valentines day, 2008. how i wish by hugging this lucky rat, bad luck will keep distance from me.

Your Purpose of Life

Beginning this year, you may take a huge stride,
to change your direction to another side.
Alas your intention may be slightly off track,
but you can adjust and then take a step back.

Through this confusion lessons learned well,
isn't lost time, so there's no need to dwell.
Sometimes in life as you make certain choices,
you must listen clearly to hear the right voices.

Although you admit, you are slightly confused,
with feeling off track and don't feel amused.
Your soul, no doubt, shows you new ways,
to recapture freedom joyfully each day.

For when you think back to awhile ago,
you already felt that you'd be starting this flow.
For in your chart you are to work with others,
but it may take time to believe or uncover.

And during this chaos your soul talks so free,
and tells you things you are unable to see.
For your inner purpose, awakened long ago,
says to live in the "now" and to go with the flow.

It may sound so simple and so easy to do,
but one thing you learn is to remain true to you.
Your soul reminds you the reasons why you're here,
to focus awareness, then release ego and fear.

It tells you your purpose in this cycle of life,
is to teach others to release grief and strife.
Or to light the pathway that they cannot see,
to show them how powerful they can truly be.

And how you will do this still keeps you at odds,
even though you know that your soul is your God.
But when it's time for this mystery to unfold,
you will either be shown or you will be told.

To reveal the puzzle of your spiritual path,
you must trust and believe in what has been cast.
Your outer purpose is connected to your soul,
so as long as you listen, you will complete your goal.

.... Margaret Jang


and for me? it's all about the kids. yup, the kids and all the kids. watching your kids grow up, transform themselves into responsible individuals, is the only meaning of life. because of them, we forgot that we have life of our own. but it will not be in vain for we all know life is designed that way. happiness is, for me, having wonderful, loving children.

going to paradise

whoever said heaven up there must got it wrong. while people seem to lose hope in their life, places like this truly rejuvenates our inner selves.

white sand, clear waters.. these are all but basic ingredients of fun. places such as this wakes the child in us. plays are not limited to children but for us too. there are times in our life where we need peace and tranquility to reflect what is the direction of our lives. the question of where we are leading to can be realized when we are at peace with ourself.

this place is known as the waniban island, located near mati in davao oriental. the island itself is beyond compare. as beauty is subjective, having comparisons is rather difficult. with me during the trip is the reason why we are still hoping for the best, our kids.

man, you've got to check it out too.